Real Estate

Ranked: The Most Affordable U.S. Cities for Home Buyers

Published

2 months ago

June 14, 2023

Avery Koop

chart showing affordable u.s. cities for home buyers in 2023

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Ranked: The Most Affordable U.S. Cities for Home Buyers

Just before the pandemic, the average home price in the U.S. was $313,000—a figure that has since jumped by 40% to $436,800 today. As home prices and mortgage rates increase, home ownership is becoming an unrealistic dream for some.

In the cities ranked above, however, buying a house is a much more attainable goal.

By looking at factors like the real estate tax rate, median home price appreciation, and cost of living, this study from WalletHub assesses the most affordable cities in the U.S. for home buyers. The scores in the ranking are out of 100 and the higher a score, the more affordable that city is for home buyers.

The Methodology

This ranking considers much more than just the price tag on a house when it comes to affordability. Using 10 metrics, which cover an array of important considerations for home buyers, the overall affordability score is measured for each city.

Here’s a closer look at the 10 categories and how each one was weighted and measured:

Metric	Weight
Housing Affordability	25.00 points
Cost per Square Foot	16.67 points
Maintenance Affordability	8.33 points
Average Cost of Homeowner's Insurance	8.33 points
Cost of Living	8.33 points
Real Estate Tax Rate	8.33 points
Rent-to-Price-Ratio	8.33 points
Median Home Price Appreciation	8.33 points
Quarterly Active Listings per Capita	4.17 points
Vacancy Rate	4.17 points

The highest-weighted metric is the median price of the home itself divided by the median household income in that area, or house affordability.

Other important metrics assessed include the availability of homes for sale, the average cost of homeowner’s insurance, maintenance costs, and many other vital things people must consider when purchasing a home.

Which U.S. Cities are the Most Affordable for Home Buyers?

Here’s a closer look at the 50 most affordable cities for home buyers in the U.S.:

Rank	City	Score
T1	Montgomery, AL	71.4
T1	Flint, MI	71.4
3	Toledo, OH	71.0
4	Detroit, MI	70.9
5	Akron, OH	70.3
6	Warren, MI	70.2
7	Pittsburgh, PA	70.1
8	Yuma, AZ	69.5
T9	Springfield, Il	69.1
T9	Palm Bay, FL	69.1
11	Augusta, GA	68.9
12	Surpise, AZ	68.7
13	Grand Rapids, MI	68.5
14	Davenport, IA	68.3
T15	Buffalo, NY	68.2
T15	Cedar Rapids, IA	68.2
17	Columbus, OH	68.1
18	North Las Vegas, NV	67.9
T19	Fayetteville, NC	67.8
T19	Des Moines, IA	67.8
21	Peoria, IL	67.4
T22	Cleveland, OH	67.2
T22	Las Vegas, NV	67.2
24	Livonia, MI	67.0
T25	Dayton, OH	66.9
T25	Erie, PA	66.9
27	Dearborn, MI	66.5
28	Columbus, GA	66.4
29	Lakeland, FL	66.2
30	Rockford, IL	66.1
31	Memphis, TN	65.9
32	Henderson, NV	65.6
T33	Birmingham, AL	65.5
T33	Louisville, KY	65.5
T33	Fort Smith, AR	65.5
T33	Gilbert, AZ	65.5
37	Peoria, AZ	65.3
38	Mesa, AZ	65.2
39	Chesapeake, VA	65.0
40	Green Bay, WI	64.9
41	High Point, NC	64.5
42	Baltimore, MD	64.4
43	Cape Coral, FL	64.3
44	Fort Wayne, IN	64.1
T45	Indianapolis, IN	63.9
T45	Joliet, IL	63.9
T45	Tuscaloosa, AL	63.9
48	Philadelphia, PA	63.8
49	Lansing, MI	63.7
50	Chandler, AZ	63.5

When it comes to the individual metrics, here’s a look at some cities which had the best scores in a few of the unique categories:

#1 in Housing Affordability: Springfield, IL
#1 in Maintenance Affordability: Sunnyvale, CA
#1 in Rent-to-Price Ratio: Flint, MI
#1 in Vacancy Rate: Miami Beach, FL

Location, Location, Location

Narrowing down which locations are feasible from a lifestyle and financial standpoint is a critical first step in the home-buying journey. Popular suburban communities and iconic hubs like Los Angeles or NYC hold great appeal, but these places command a higher price point or have housing stock that is incompatible with lifestyle needs.

On the flip side, some of the most affordable cities may have issues that negatively affect desirability. Flint, Michigan (#1), for example, is still widely perceived to have issues with its drinking water. Other places are high in crime or have a narrow range of economic opportunities, like Detroit (#4) or Yuma, Arizona (#9), respectively.

Many of the cities in the ranking are concentrated in Michigan, Arizona, and Ohio. In terms of big cities that are actually affordable, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Baltimore are examples of well-known spots to make the list.

There are also a number of ties in the ranking, with makes for interesting juxtapositions. For instance, Las Vegas is just as affordable as Cleveland, Ohio (#22). Here’s a look at some other cities that are equally affordable for home buyers:

Montgomery, Alabama and Flint, Michigan (#1)
Springfield, Illinois and Palm Bay, Florida (#9)
Buffalo, New York and Cedar Rapids, Iowa (#15)
Fayetteville, North Carolina and Des Moines, Iowa (#19)
Dayton, Ohio and Erie, Pennsylvania (#25)
Birmingham, Alabama; Louisville, Kentucky; Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Gilbert, Arizona (#33)
Indianapolis, Indiana; Joliet, Illinois; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama (#45)

Overall, the home ownership rate in the U.S.—the share of homes that are occupied by their owners—is currently 66%, according to FRED data. While the trend shows a general recovery from the steep drop off that occurred during the pandemic, there is a while to go before the U.S. reaches pre-2020 figures. Perhaps, these affordable towns could offer a solution.

Where Does This Data Come From?

Source: WalletHub using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, The National Association of Realtors, Council for Community and Economic Research and Insurance Information Institute.

Data notes: To determine the most affordable cities for home buyers, WalletHub compared a sample of 300 U.S. cities (varying in size) across ten key metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for home affordability. The ranking only considers proper cities and not surrounding metropolitan areas. Visit the source for further details.

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United States

Ranked: The U.S. Cities with the Most Vacant Offices

This visual showcases the top ten U.S. downtown areas with the fastest growing rate of vacant offices from the pre-pandemic era to 2023.

Published

1 week ago

August 2, 2023

Avery Koop

Ranked: The U.S. Cities with the Most Vacant Offices

For many across the U.S., hour-long transit rides and traffic jams to work have been replaced by roll-out-of-bed commutes and stand-up desks at home, leaving vacant offices behind.

Long story short, more and more offices in major U.S. cities are empty. At the end of March 2023, the national average vacancy rate of U.S. offices had climbed as high as 18.6%.

So how have different cities in the U.S. been impacted? This ranking uses data out of fDi Intelligence to rank the top 10 cities that have seen the biggest increases in office vacancy rates from Q4’2019 to Q1’2023.

No Vacancy

It is anticipated that by 2030, over 300 million square feet of U.S. office spaces will be obsolete.

According to Pew Research Center, around 35% of U.S. workers who can work from home in 2023 are already doing so all the time. In short, unless trends begin to reverse, offices in many cities will stay empty or continue getting emptier.

Here’s a closer look at the cities with the fastest growing vacancy rates in percentage points (p.p.) terms since just before the COVID-19 pandemic:

Rank	City	State	Change in Vacancy Rates Q4'2019 vs. Q1'2023
#1	San Francisco	California	+19.8 p.p.
#2	New York City (Midtown South)	New York	+14.2 p.p.
#3	Austin	Texas	+14.2 p.p.
#4	Seattle	Washington	+13.4 p.p.
#5	Salt Lake City	Utah	+13.1 p.p.
#6	New York City (Downtown)	New York	+10.7 p.p.
#7	Phoenix	Arizona	+10.6 p.p.
#8	Columbus	Ohio	+10.6 p.p.
#9	Raleigh-Durham	North Carolina	+10.4 p.p.
#10	New York City (Midtown)	New York	+10.4 p.p.

San Francisco has been hardest hit, with vacancy rates climbing by 19.8 p.p. in just over three years. Meanwhile, New York City has added over 16.8 million square feet, equivalent to 293 football fields, of new office space since Q4’2019 between its three most vacant neighborhoods.

However, not all of the cities with the most vacant offices are huge metropolises. Urban areas like Austin, Columbus, and Raleigh-Durham have also seen massive increases in their office vacancies, but their increasing rates may be blamed more on new construction and oversupply than to falling demand.

The Office Real Estate Market

At the national level, the supply of new office real estate has been dropping steadily since Q1’2022, down by a whopping 67% year-over-year.

Vacant offices over time

Overall, it looks like U.S. office buildings are not as bustling as they once were, but there still may be opportunities for the office real estate market in growing cities.