Housing News

The 20 Most Affordable Places in America to Buy a Home

December 2, 2024

Over the last few years, the housing market has stayed stubbornly expensive for much of the country—but there are certain areas where bargains can still be found.

In fact, there are still metropolitan areas where home prices are relatively affordable compared to more expensive areas, even in areas where prices have risen in recent years. Homebuyers who are willing and able to move may be able to save big.

Not surprisingly, most of the places with more reasonable home prices are in the Midwest, South, and East Coast. Many are Rust Belt cities that have struggled economically over the last few decades.

“The cost of living is also generally lower in these markets,” said Chris Porter, senior vice president, research at John Burns Research & Consulting. “And in many of these markets, it's a generally older housing stock.”

Three Ohio metros were in the top five most affordable metros in October, according to an analysis of Zillow data. The analysis only included the 100 largest metros.

Toledo, Ohio had the lowest median home list price at $207,567, according to the Zillow data.

For example, buyers can snag a three-bedroom, two-bathroom 1,335-square-foot home in Toledo for less than $90,000. But they should keep in mind, the home was built in 1912.

All of the 20 most affordable metros had price tags that were at least $100,000 less than the national median list price of $399,600.

Porter pointed out that while these home prices are considered affordable to many buyers from other parts of the country, they may be steep for local buyers.

“The great majority of these markets have a median household income that is less than the national average,” said Porter.

In Toledo, the median household income was $45,405 in 2022 dollars, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Nationally, it was $74,580 in the same year.

However, home prices in the 20 most affordable metros have not been immune to home price increases seen across the country over the last four years.

The median home list price in Toledo was up 18.7% from October 2020 to October 2024, according to Zillow data.

“These prices are up pretty significantly from where they were pre-pandemic,” said Porter.