Short on Cash? Buy a Home Here

Head to Montgomery, Alabama, for the most affordable abodes; avoid Santa Barbara, California
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 23, 2023 1:40 PM CDT
Looking to Buy a Home? Here's the Most Affordable US City
Stock photo.   (Getty Images/fizkes)

With soaring home prices and interest rates, it may not seem like the best time to plunk down a down payment on a new home. Some US cities, however, make that goal more attainable than others, and WalletHub sifted through the data to suss out the top contenders. The site looked at 10 metrics for 300 cities of varying size, including the affordability of not just the home but maintenance; the cost of insurance; a city's cost of living; taxes; price appreciation; and active listings per capita. Montgomery, Alabama, shot up to the No. 1 most affordable spot, while Santa Barbara, California, ended up at the bottom of the list. In fact, eight of the 10 least affordable cities are in the Golden State. Here's where you'll have to open your wallet the most, and least:

Most Affordable

  1. Montgomery, Alabama
  2. Flint, Michigan
  3. Toledo, Ohio
  4. Detroit
  5. Akron, Ohio
  6. Warren, Michigan
  7. Pittsburgh
  8. Yuma, Arizona
  9. Springfield, Illinois
  10. Palm Bay, Florida

Least Affordable
  1. San Francisco
  2. New York
  3. Pasadena, California
  4. Boulder, Colorado
  5. Los Angeles
  6. Burbank, California
  7. Glendale, California
  8. Santa Monica, California
  9. Berkeley, California
  10. Santa Barbara, California
See how other cities fared here. (Looking to start a business? These cities are ideal.)

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