Best Places To Buy a Vacation Home for Under $200,000

Maybe you’ve dreamed of owning a vacation home but have priced properties on your getaways and found prices too exorbitant. And maybe, given most Americans have enough trouble handling the financial burden of a single home, you’ve decided a second home isn’t in the cards.

Not so fast.

If you’re willing to be a little flexible about where you buy a vacation home, it might be a lot more feasible than you thought. GOBankingRates found the best places to buy a vacation home for under $200,000, and each location offers something special, whether a cool downtown vibe, amazing arts and culture, or easy access to recreation on the water. The study reveals that there are plenty of areas with options for cheap vacation homes — and you can make a ton of money renting them out. You might not have considered these places, but they actually offer great options for owning a vacation/investment property.

• 2023 average home value: $179,317.08
• Occupancy: 61%
• Average daily rate: $129
• Average annual revenue: $27,000

Evansville, founded in 1812, sits on a bend in the Ohio River. The River City, as it’s known, is Indiana’s third-largest city and the gateway to the metro region to the state’s south, made up of southwest Indiana, northwest Kentucky and southeast Illinois. For vacationers, Evansville represents a perfect blend of outdoor recreation, cultural destinations, the arts and nightlife while maintaining a hometown feel.

• 2023 average home value: $135,885.28
• Occupancy: 56%
• Average daily rate: $157
• Average annual revenue: $30,000

Montgomery, Alabama’s state capital, is accessible from some of the South’s most popular cities. If you live in Atlanta, Montgomery is a two-hour drive, and it’s four hours from Nashville, Tennessee, and 4 1/2 hours from New Orleans. Some of the most significant events of the second half of the 20th century occurred in Montgomery, and The Legacy Museum remembers the area’s contributions to the civil rights movement. The city offers a variety of other things to do, including a visit to the new Montgomery Whitewater, a downtown center with kayaking, rafting, walking trails and dining and entertainment options.

• 2023 average home value: $114,398.36
• Occupancy: 58%
• Average daily rate: $165
• Average annual revenue: $33,000

Your first thought of Akron probably isn’t as a vacation destination. It’s better known as the Rubber Capital of the World, with B.F. Goodrich Tire, Firestone, General Tire and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. getting their starts there. The younger generation knows Akron as the hometown of basketball star LeBron James, and he’s invested heavily in programs to improve the futures of children in the city. With Akron located within 500 miles of 50% of the U.S. population, it’s an affordable stopover for travelers, especially those interested in the arts. Akron boasts several museums and the Ohio Shakespeare Festival.

• 2023 average home value: $101,471.81
• Occupancy: 53%
• Average daily rate: $181
• Average annual revenue: $35,000

Somewhere along the line, Cleveland got the mocking moniker “The Mistake on the Lake.” No more. Cleveland now is cool. The city along Lake Erie, about 40 miles northwest of Akron, is undergoing a continued rejuvenation that has residents and tourists heading to the heart of the city. Among the biggest attractions in “The Land,” as many now call it, is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which celebrates music’s legends, incuding Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Cleveland’s vast Metroparks system has 18 parks over 23,000 acres and also boasts 300 miles of hiking trails, parks with access to the lake, eight golf courses and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

• 2023 average home value: $140,863.63
• Occupancy: 61%
• Average daily rate: $175
• Average annual revenue: $39,000

The movie “A League of Their Own,” starring Tom Hanks as the manager of a women’s professional baseball team, made Rockford a household name. But there’s much more to the northern Illinois city than the historic Rockford Peaches. Rockford makes an ideal vacation locale given its proximity to downtown Chicago and the Wisconsin cities of Madison and Milwaukee about 90 minutes away. In Rockford, vacationers can relax or enjoy museums, gardens and events along the Rock River, including the Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition, Music in the Park and the Fourth of July Festival.

• 2023 average home value: $177,489.50
• Occupancy: 45%
• Average daily rate: $314
• Average annual revenue: $40,000

Augusta sits about 150 miles east of Atlanta, and it’s synonymous with The Masters Tournament, one of four majors on the PGA Tour. Owning a vacation own in Augusta guarantees you lodging during the tournament at Augusta National Golf Club each spring, but it also could be a rental goldmine for landlords. Augusta is more than golf, though. Visitors enjoy art, family festivals, the food scene, improv theater and walks along the Savannah River. Among the historic sites is The Boyhood Home of President Woodrow Wilson.

• 2023 average home value: $170,997.06
• Occupancy: 62%
• Average daily rate: $252
• Average annual revenue: $50,000

St. Ignace occupies a unique place in American history and geography. It’s one of the oldest continuous settlements in the U.S., and it also sits at the juncture of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron at the Straits of Mackinac. Its waterside location makes St. Ignace a vacation paradise for residents of the steamy desert Southwest or the sticky Southeast who want a cooler summer escape. Boating, fishing and diving all are local pastimes, but there’s plenty to do — listen to music by the bay, shop or sample local restaurants. Vacationers also can use St. Ignace as a home base for day trips throughout the Upper Peninsula.

• 2023 average home value: $172,733.02
• Occupancy: 60%
• Average daily rate: $304
• Average annual revenue: $69,000

Like St. Ignace, Cheboygan is a destination for vacationers who want to relax in less-oppressive summer heat. But travelers who desire fall and winter experiences also head to Cheboygan, located on the Straits of Mackinac where the Cheboygan River and Lake Huron meet. The community draws leaf-peepers in the fall, seeking to bask in the cooler weather and witness autumn’s cornucopia of colors. In the winter, snow-covered Cheboygan is a playground for cross-country skiers and snowshoers.

• 2023 average home value: $164,954.37
• Occupancy: 45%
• Average daily rate: $415
• Average annual revenue: $95,000

The population in Augusta swells during the Masters, just as it does in South Bend when Notre Dame’s football team is playing a home game. Fervent fans of the Fighting Irish flock to Notre Dame Stadium, which legendary coach Knute Rockne designed prior to its 1930 opening. While South Bend is tied for the lowest occupancy rate in the study, it brings in by far the most annual revenue because of the huge average daily rate of $415 each night that a vacation home is rented.

Methodology: To find Where You Can Buy a Vacation Home for Less than $200,000, GOBankingRates gathered a list of popular vacation home locations from AirDNA’s Best Places to Invest in US Vacation Rentals in 2023. Then, GOBankingRates used Zillow Research Data to find the Zillow Home Value Index for each city. The list was filtered to only show locations with average home values under $200,000. Occupancy Rate, average daily rate, and average revenue for all cities are also included as supplemental information. The list was sorted to show the most revenue within a $200,000 home value. All data was collected and is up to date as of June 30, 2023.