Brownsville rated nation's third most affordable city

Once again Brownsville has made the top 10 list of most affordable U.S. cities according to the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), based on the organization’s third quarter 2010 Cost of Living Index.

In fact, this time around Brownsville is in top three. Harlingen heads the list of most affordable cities, as it has in the past. McAllen always features prominently as well. In the latest report, however, Harlingen, McAllen and Brownsville are ranked first, second and third respectively among 314 participating urban centers across the nation.

Affordability is one metric among many that businesses and individuals may use when considering moving to a city. The cost-of-living indicators C2ER uses — while extensive — can be offset by other factors such as property taxes. C2ER’s Cost of Living Index measures the cost of grocery items, housing, utilities, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services from city to city. Those numbers are crunched to assign affordability rankings. For instance, the borough of Manhattan in New York City, with a Cost of Living Index of 207.9, is the most expensive U.S. city. Harlingen, at 79.9, is the least expensive. McAllen scored 83.2 and Brownsville, 84.3.

C2ER’s city-by-city price comparisons are very specific. The dozens of individual metrics the report compares include the cost of: T-bone steak, per pound; bananas, per pound; an 18-ounce box of Kellogg’s or Post Toasties corn flakes; a two-bedroom, unfurnished, 950-square-foot apartment with 1½ or 2 baths, utilities excluded except for water; computer- or spin-balancing one front wheel on a car; one adult teeth-cleaning; an 11- or 12-inch, thin crust, cheese pizza from Pizza Hut or Pizza Inn; a men’s barbershop haircut, no styling; a can of three extra-duty Wilson or Penn yellow tennis balls; and a six-pack of Heineken beer in 12-ounce containers, no deposit. And so on.

That six-pack, according to C2ER, costs $8.47 on average in Brownsville, while in Manhattan the same six-pack will run you $10.44. Tennis balls that cost $1.86 in Brownsville go for $2.68 in Manhattan, where a teeth-cleaning will cost you $116.25, versus $71 in Brownsville.

Half the top 10 cheapest cities are in Texas, according to C2R. Of the top 10 most expensive cities, all are in New York and California with the exception of Honolulu, Hawaii, rated No. 3.

Angela Burton, president and CEO of the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, said participating in C2ER’s quarterly reporting involves work, since a staff member has to go out four times a year to research 60 different items — from margarine to movie tickets. Still, she thinks it’s worth the cost of membership as a way to advertise Brownsville.

“If someone is looking at moving from, say, Las Vegas to Brownsville, they can compare the cost of living as to how far a mid-management salary would go,” Burton said.

She added that “Brownsville needs to be there” beside the other cities featured in the C2ER Cost of Living Index. The chamber pays a membership premium to be able to feature a Cost of Living Calculator on its website.

“I can’t say that people actually move to Brownsville because of the cost of living, but it is a great marketing tool for our region,” she said.

Gilberto Salinas, vice president of marketing for the Brownsville Economic Development Council, thinks the C2ER ranking is a double-edged sword.

“It’s positive for us in the sense that when we’re going out to recruit a company we can say we’re in the top three of the most affordable cities in the U.S.,” he said. “So if you’re looking to do some kind of investment it’s going to be more affordable in this part of the country. The flip side of that means that we have one of the lowest wages in the country. There’s a correlation between having low wages and being affordable.”

Salinas said Brownsville no longer advertises itself to industry simply as a great place to set up shop “because you’re going to pay the cheapest wages.” Now BEDC only targets companies that pay wages above the county average, he said.

“Yeah, it’s great to go out there and say we’re the most affordable,” Salinas said. “Do we want to be known as the most affordable city out there? Yes and no.”