Pittsburgh remained one of the most affordable regions among its peers, according to second-quarter cost-of-living figures analyzed by the Pittsburgh Regional Indicators Consortium.

The seven-county Pittsburgh region was fourth among 15 benchmark metropolitan areas tracked at pittsburghtoday.org, with the least expensive being Indianapolis followed by St. Louis and Cincinnati.

While similar to the federal consumer price index, the ACCRA Cost of Living Index is a quarterly snapshot that is not cumulative. Its audience is intended to be higher income executives and professionals, who, for instance, are weighing the relative cost of job changes.

Pittsburgh's housing and basic health-care costs were second lowest in the second quarter behind St. Louis and Cincinnati, respectively. Its transportation costs were second highest, ahead of Boston.

Pittsburgh wound up being tied with Cleveland at No. 7 in 2007. Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati; and St. Louis had the lowest overall cost of living indices last year, based on data collected by the Council for Community and Economic Research.

The Pittsburgh region includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.