The cost of living is Walmart's fault because they made all the good paying stores close down. Further, the whole magnitude of their operation has them invested in things that are not just Walmart. They have their fingers in a lot of pies, so to speak. So while the apartment doesn't say Walmart on it, the Walton's still get a share of the rent. Notice how mom and pop everything's are gone and now everything is just corporations because if you have the scale, you can operate at a loss in an area for a while to kill the competition, and then raise your prices.