San Marcos has been named the 10th least expensive urban area in the nation by the 2012 Cost of Living Index report issued quarterly by the Council for Community and Economic Research.

The report compared 300 urban areas throughout the United States. The cost of living index is a price index that determines the overall cost of living for a particular region.

San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero said the city's affordability adds to its appeal and the benefit of living in San Marcos.

"This ranking demonstrates that San Marcos not only has a fantastic quality of life and great educational opportunities, we also are highly competitive when it comes to the price of housing, utilities, health care, transportation, groceries, and goods and services," Guerrero said.

The six categories Guerrero listed are the main components that determine the council's cost of living index number, calculated from more than 90,000 prices collected three times per year.

San Marcos earned an 87 on the cost of living index scale for the second quarter of 2012. According to the council, that index number measures relative price levels in the areas that were compared. The average for all areas that participate is equal to 100, essentially making 100 the baseline.

Each index number is a percentage of the average for all the areas that were surveyed.

In the first quarter of 2012, San Marcos did not make the list. The No. 10 spot belonged to Pryor Creek, Okla., with an 86.3, while Harlingen remained in the No. 1 spot in the first and second quarters with an 81.6.

The country's most expensive urban area, according to the survey, was the Manhattan area of New York, which earned a 233.5 on the council's scale.

The other Texas cities that made this quarter's least expensive cities list were Wichita Falls and McAllen. Further details of the study are available online at www.coli.org/ ReleaseHighlights.asp