Staff file photo . . . The block letter Youngstown sign at Wean Park is a popular spot for photos. The city and the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman metro area make for an affordable place to live — in fact, the second-cheapest place in the country, according to a survey done by U.S. News & World Report.

YOUNGSTOWN — Greater Youngstown is the second-cheapest place to live in the United States, according to a study done by U.S. News & World Report.

Its senior editor, Dawn Bradbury, said the Youngstown area moved up to the No. 2 spot in most affordable places this year because of “housing costs, price parity and a review of the price of general goods in a location compared to the national average.”

Hickory, North Carolina, is ranked No. 1.

“The Youngstown metro area has a cost of living that requires 20.29 percent of the median household income,” Bradbury said. That figure is $10,933.

According to U.S. News & World Report and the U.S. Census Bureau, the average income in the Youngstown area is $31,020.

“When comparing the price parity, the cost of goods and services, with other metro areas, Youngstown ranks No. 2 out of the 150 most populous metro areas in the U.S. for housing affordability. It ranked seventh out of the 150 most populous metropolitan areas.”

The six metropolitan areas above Youngstown are quad cities including Davenport-Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline-Rock Island, Illinois; then Pittsburgh; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Huntsville, Alabama; and Hickory, North Carolina.

According to Michael Stevens, president of the Youngstown Columbiana Association of Realtors, the average cost of housing in Youngstown is $135,000.

According to Bradbury, “the median home price is $137,546, compared with a national average of $383,883.”

Stevens said the competitive nature of the Mahoning Valley is what keeps prices down.

“It is very competitive with other regions in the country, which make it a great location,” he said.

Stevens said some other places in the Mahoning Valley that are affordable are Warren, Struthers, Campbell, Girard and Austintown.

“Property values are most competitive in Youngstown and Warren,” he said.

He said housing affordability is increasing because “employment pportunities are coming back.”

He also said although prices are increasing, they are “still very affordable.”

“I think what has happened is over the years locally our economy did suffer and wasn’t the strongest local economy,” he said. “I think we still have low housing prices because of the past.”

According to U.S. News and World Report, “Youngstown used to be known as the steel capital, but has been adapting since the industry’s collapse in the 1970s. … Since 2010, new businesses have been popping up in its downtown area.”

Bradbury said that “U.S. News & World Report” also rated areas in a separate list based quality of life, which includes weather factors.

“This year, we added a severe weather risk or resilience score to the quality of life index,” she said. “This score measures not only location-based severe weather risk, but also the local government’s resilience and the financial capability of residents to recover after a natural disaster.”

Youngstown was ranked No. 60 on the quality of life index.