What America’s Best-Value Cities Reveal About Money and the Good Life

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A new ranking compared 41 major U.S. cities based on the quality of life residents receive for every $100 in living costs, weighing factors such as safety, healthcare, housing, traffic, purchasing power, and affordability. Tucson ranked first, followed by Jacksonville and San Antonio, while New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco landed near the bottom, largely due to their higher costs. But what if these rankings aren’t just about a better or good life, but something deeper?

What actually makes a life “good”? While financial stability does matter, Scripture reminds us that flourishing cannot ultimately be measured by income, amenities, or purchasing power. A spreadsheet can tell us how far our money may go, but can it tell us how well we’re living?

Why Does Affordability Matter Without Defining the Good Life?

For all families, rankings like these can be genuinely useful. It helps to know that where we live affects our budgets, housing costs, healthcare, transportation, and other factors. Financial stability is necessary and provides flexibility, less financial stress, access to needs, and the ability to give or save. The Bible never tells us that money doesn’t matter. But while affordability is important, it isn’t the whole story.

Christians are called to steward their resources wisely. This doesn’t mean hoarding or loving money more than anything else, but using wisdom, knowledge, and discernment when it comes to our use of it.

Just look at these three passages:

1 Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (NIV).

Proverbs 21:5: “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty: (NIV).

James 5:1-3: “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days” (NIV).

In each of these Scriptures, money isn’t described as good or bad. But what we do with it matters. The state of our hearts and motives matters. Because money is a tool. It is useful, and we do need it to survive. But it’s not the definition of human flourishing or the “best” life.

You can be rich and yet poor. You can live in an affordable city and still be lonely. You may possess more than you need, but still feel purposeless. We can earn enough and still be discontent with what we have. Our city can be expensive and safe, but still lack community.

What Does Paul Teach Us About Contentment?

In Philippians 4:11-12, Paul explains that contentment in this life doesn’t come from safety, possession, or wealth, but from in whom we place our trust:

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (NIV).

As a slave and missionary for Jesus Christ, Paul had experienced having plenty and having little, being hungry and being well fed, freedom and hardship. Yet his contentment and satisfaction with a life lived well weren’t dependent on a particular set of circumstances or income. It rested in Jesus Christ alone.

Many of us may be tempted to believe that if we just lived somewhere cheaper, saved more money, or had a higher-paying job, we would achieve the satisfaction, security, and control we’re searching for. We say, “If I just had a bigger house,” or “a smaller mortgage payment,” or “worked three jobs,” then life would finally feel “good.” But while changing circumstances can be wise and helpful, Paul’s words remind us that contentment must be learned wherever we are, and our security must be placed in someone beyond ourselves.

What Does the Bible Say the Good Life Really Is?

Beyond purchasing power, what we own, where we live, or how much we make, the true “Good Life” isn’t something we can earn, achieve, or buy. Lifestyle rankings like these can be helpful. They measure housing costs, traffic, access to healthcare, and safety. But you know what they can’t measure? Loving relationships, spiritual growth, meaningful work, belonging, generosity, purpose, peace, gratitude, love, and faith. What if the most valuable things in life don’t come with a price tag?

If given the opportunity to maximize one thing in life, most people would choose wealth, convenience, safety, health, or relationships. But what about your spiritual health? Community? Fellowship? These categories aren’t meant to be mutually exclusive, but they are meant to reveal what we’re really living for.

How Can Christians Practice Contentment Without Becoming Complacent?

Christian contentment isn’t settling, staying in an unhealthy job or relationship, or ignoring financial problems. It doesn’t mean you’ll never move or have to face every hardship with joy. Rather, Paul showed us that true and Godly contentment can be content and still take action. It’s possible to trust God and seek a better financial situation. To be satisfied and move to a more affordable area. To change jobs and remember that the next circumstance isn’t going to be your Savior.

How Can Stewardship Shape Financial Decisions?

Instead, stewardship asks a different question. Stewardship isn’t about getting the most we can, but learning how we can faithfully steward that which God has already given us.

This is why it’s possible that your next wise step might mean choosing a lower-cost city to live in, but it could also mean paying for proximity to family, community, a job opportunity, healthcare, or a particular calling. Everyone’s “best value” will be unique to them. As 1 Corinthians 4:2 notes, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (NIV). Faithfulness and contentment may look different from person to person.

So instead of constantly asking, “What is my city lacking?” what if we asked, “What has God given me here?” Maybe not monetarily, or in the way people always think, but through the people, places, or ways God provides. Maybe it’s a kind neighbor who checks in or a church community down the street. Maybe it’s a quaint park or a family that lives on your road. Perhaps it’s meaningful work, affordable housing, your favorite coffee shop, or the sunrise as you commute. Finding these pockets of gratitude doesn’t mean we can’t desire or pursue change. Gratitude isn’t ignoring our problems. But it refuses to let what we don’t have blind us to what we do have.

So maybe the “Good Life” has less to do with what we have and more to do with who we become. A particular city may offer more, but what do we do with that? Financial margin can allow us to give, help, serve, and rest. Money can become a tool for flourishing. But if lower expenses just allow us to buy and consume more, are we actually gaining meaning?

How Can We Define the Good Life Differently?

Money can’t buy the best life, but here are a few tips for how to rethink your own “Good Life.”

1. Look at Your Numbers- Do an honest assessment of your income, housing, bills, debt, savings, transportation, healthcare, pets, etc. You don’t need to deny these needs.

2. Define Enough- If you don’t define enough, enough will never be enough. Discuss with God and your spouse (if applicable) what you actually need to live faithfully and generously.

3. Remember What Money Can’t Buy- No matter where you live or how much money you have, there are things money can’t buy. Write down five things you value that aren’t financial. For example, family, friends, pets, faith, purpose, health, or community.

4. Give Thanks- This isn’t ignoring your legitimate needs, but turning your attention to the good that’s already present.

5. Let Your Financial Decisions Serve Your Values- The next time you consider a move, job, home, lifestyle, or purchase, ask yourself if it will help you live according to what matters most.

While we can learn a lot from a city rating, a “Good Life” can’t be reduced to a ranking. No matter how helpful it is, it can’t and won’t tell us where we’re going to find meaning.

Philippians 4 reminds us that contentment isn’t something we find in perfect circumstances or even the best housing conditions. Contentment is something we learn in and with Christ. Maybe the good life was never about where our money will go the furthest, but where we learn to steward what we’ve already been given.

Prayer

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for everything you’ve given me. While I want to steward my finances well, please give me wisdom to make wise decisions without letting money dictate how “Good” my life is. Teach me contentment and show me how to serve you generously and faithfully. I love you, Lord. Amen.

Agape, Amber

Frequently Asked Questions

For Further Reading

• Why Financial Literacy Is More Than a Classroom Skill
• Why “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread” Matters in an Anxious Economy
• 4 Things Contentment Is and 4 Things Contentment Is Not
• What Does It Mean to Steward Well What God Has Given Me?
• What Does “The Good Life” Really Mean for Christians?

Photo Credit: Oakville News on Unsplash

Amber Ginter is a teacher-turned-author who loves Jesus, her husband Ben, and granola. Growing up Amber looked for faith and mental health resources and found none. Today, she offers hope for young Christians struggling with mental illness that goes beyond simply reading your Bible and praying more. Because you can love Jesus and still suffer from anxiety. You can download her top faith and mental health resources for free to help navigate books, podcasts, videos, and influencers from a faith lens perspective. Visit her website at amberginter.com.

This article originally appeared on Christianity.com. For more faith-building resources, visit Christianity.com.