Monthly rent for 2-br apartment: $595
Monthly house payment: $836
Gallon gas: $2.683
Hamburger: $3.16
Half-gallon milk: $1.74

The Sherman-Denison metro area in north Texas, roughly 60 miles north of the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and just south of Oklahoma, is home to Lake Texoma, one of the country's largest man-made lakes. Major employers in the area include Tyson Fresh Meats (TSN), Texoma Health Care System, and Wilson N. Jones Hospital, according to the Denison Development Alliance. Median household income in the metro area is $45,171, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.