You can thank the federal DOT regulations for a good part of this. When every car is required to meet a very long list of requirements, like rear-view cameras and accompanied display, the cost is passed straight on to the consumer.
There are many vehicles kept out of the US market by these regulations. I own a Suzuki Samurai (you know, the little "jeep" thing from the 1980s), and there is actually a very large group of people still fixing these up and running them. Well, they still make them (called the Suzuki Jimny) and they are fully modernized, and start under $20k USD. These things would sell like CRAZY in the US, but they aren't legal here. Basically everywhere else in the world, but not here. Because there is some requirement (IE extra expense) they are not meeting to allow them in the US market. There are many affordable vehicles like these out there that can't be sold in the US.