These are the 12 most affordable US cities to buy a home in — where property values are less than 2.5 years’ worth of local incomes — according to SmartAsset
- SmartAsset identified 12 US cities with the cheapest home prices relative to local incomes.
- Median home prices in these cities are below $175,000, much lower than the US median.
- But they’re also cheap on a relative basis, with homes costing less than 2.5 years of income.
Are inflation, record home prices, and sky-high mortgage rates cutting into your ability to buy a home? One solution could be going where your money will go the farthest.
In a recent analysis, financial information site SmartAsset looked at median home price and income data in cities around the US, and came up with a list of places where home prices are cheapest relative to local incomes.
All of the cities are fairly affordable on an absolute basis, having median home prices below $175,000, much lower than the national median of $358,754, according to Zillow. But they’re also the 12 metropolitan areas where buyers can find the best bargains relative to local wages out of all of the 192 cities SmartAsset analyzed.
In each of the 12 cities, home prices are no higher than 2.5 years’ worth of local incomes. Some of the least affordable cities in the country include Flagstaff, Arizona, and Los Angeles, California, where home prices are almost 10 years’ worth of wages.
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To conduct the analysis, SmartAsset used median home sale price data from Zillow as of February 29. Income data is from the US Census Bureau from 2022 and is adjusted upward by 5.3% to reflect wage growth through March 2024, in accordance with Federal Reserve data.
The 12 cities are listed below in ascending order of their relative home price affordability.
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12. Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio
Median home price: $170,667
Median income: $68,660
Income as percentage of home price: 40.2%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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11. Muncie, Indiana
Median home price: $137,377
Median income: $56,959
Income as percentage of home price: 41.5%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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10. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Illinois
Median home price: $166,083
Median income: $69,121
Income as percentage of home price: 41.6%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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9. Akron, Ohio
Median home price: $167,167
Median income: $70,191
Income as percentage of home price: 42.0%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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8. Canton-Massillon, Ohio
Median home price: $156,250
Median income: $67,973
Income as percentage of home price: 43.5%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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7. Rockford, Illinois
Median home price: $159,000
Median income: $69,299
Income as percentage of home price: 43.6%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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6. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pennsylvania
Median home price: $131,333
Median income: $57,400
Income as percentage of home price: 43.7%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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5. Lawton, Oklahoma
Median home price: $131,150
Median income: $58,076
Income as percentage of home price: 44.3%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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4. Toledo, Ohio
Median home price: $140,000
Median income: $64,252
Income as percentage of home price: 45.9%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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3. Decatur, Illinois
Median home price: $128,500
Median income: $63,536
Income as percentage of home price: 49.4%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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2. Springfield, Illinois
Median home price: $157,083
Median income: $77,843
Income as percentage of home price: 49.6%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
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1. Peoria, Illinois
Median home price: $121,333
Median income: $71,873
Income as percentage of home price: 59.2%
Source: SmartAsset, Zillow, US Census Bureau
