Lansing one of 10 best affordable places to live

Guess what Lansing? We've got another reason to be proud of our city.

Livability.com has named Lansing to its "Top 10 Best Affordable Places To Live," ranking the city fourth.

Round Rock, Texas, is listed in the number one spot. Lansing is the only Michigan community to make the list, which appears on the site's home page.

The website explores what makes small to mid-sized cities great places to live, work and visit.

Lansing was singled out for a number of reasons, including the fact that the cost of living in Lansing is 8 percent below the national average (according to the Council of Community and Economic Research), the city's lower than average housing prices and its flat-rate income tax.

"We've always known that Lansing is one of America's best and most affordable cities, and this honor certainly confirms it," said Mayor Virg Bernero." It is a testament to the people across our community who work hard every day to improve Lansing's quality of life and make it such a great place to live, work and visit."

The site also notes that the region is home to Michigan State University, Lansing City Market, auto manufacturing, health insurance, bike trails, walking paths, and great bargains when shopping or looking for entertainment.

"This is just another of what has become a habit of us as a region getting a nice national list of recognitions," said Bob Trezise, president and CEO of LEAP.

"We have a powerful one-two punch to talk about right now as a region. We have a huge number of great jobs available for people across all wage scales. High tech, corporate headquarters, manufacturing. You can come here and take one of those great jobs and live in a big house for half of what it would cost in northern Chicago or, for instance, in Boston. So the one two punch is there is no one in America that can add value to someone's quality of life right now like Lansing."

Specific comparisons among the 10 cities were: the sales tax rate, and costs of a T-bone steak, a dozen eggs, pizza and a haircut.

Comparison Highlights

Lansing: Sales tax rate, 6 percent; cost of a T-bone steak, $11.99; cost of a dozen eggs, $2; cost of a pizza, $10 and cost of a haircut, $15.

Round Rock: Sales tax rate, 8.25 percent; cost of a T-bone steak, $10.04; cost of a dozen eggs, $1.78; cost of a pizza: $10; and cost of a haircut, $18.50.

Top 10 Best Affordable Places to Live

1. Round Rock, Texas

2. Dayton, Ohio

3. Lawton, Okla.

4. Lansing, Mich.

5. Appleton, Wis.

6. Fort Wayne, Ind.

7. Rochester, Minn.

8. Nampa, Idaho

9. Topeka, Kans.

10. Cedar Rapids, Iowa.