10 Affordable Cities To Live in With Potential ‘Million-Dollar Markets’

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Median home prices reached $403,700 in the first quarter of 2025, according to the National Association of Realtors. While analysts expect modest growth this year and next due to soft demand, some markets are poised to see major surges over the longer term.

A recent Realtor.com analysis of America’s 100 largest metropolitan areas identified the most affordable markets where median prices could hit $1 million by 2033. The forecasts are based on growth from 2014 to 2019, which economists applied to 2023 prices to make their predictions.

10 Affordable Cities Where Prices Could Hit $1 Million in 10 Years

GOBankingRates has listed the cities, their current median sale prices (according to Realtor.com) and the price predictions below. To help you put those figures in context, the list includes cost-of-living and median income data from Payscale and the U.S. Census, respectively.

Most of these cities are in the Western U.S., but cities in Hawaii and Massachusetts also made the list.

Boise, Idaho

• Median sale price: $498,500
• 2028 price forecast: $735,026
• 2033 price forecast: $1,162,910

Realtor.com’s analysis found that Boise home prices grew 58.2% from 2014 to 2019. The economists used that figure to forecast growth for five- and 10-year periods beginning with 2023.

Note: Median household income is $81,308, according to the U.S. Census, using 2023 dollars. That’s less than 1% above the national median of $80,613. But Paysale estimated Boise’s cost of living to be 4% higher than the national average.

Salt Lake City, Utah

• Median sale price: $522,200
• 2028 price forecast: $724,614
• 2033 price forecast: $1,064,147

Sacramento home prices grew 46.9% from 2014 to 2019 and stood at $493,414 in 2023, the base year for Realtor.com’s projections. They’re already up nearly 6% since then.

The current sale price of $522,200 will stretch the budget of a family earning a median household income of $74,925, especially considering that the cost of living is 10% higher than the national average. 

Portland, Oregon

• Median sale price: $542,300
• 2028 price forecast: $726,105
• 2033 price forecast: $1,051,838

Prices are already up 8% since 2023, which is consistent with 44.9% growth from 2014 to 2019. While median household income in Portland is well above average at $88,792, so is the cost of living, which is 19% higher than average.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

• Median sale price: $460,000
• 2028 price forecast: $680,980
• 2033 price forecast: $1,019,929

If the 2023-to-2028 increase in Colorado Springs home prices matches the 49.8% increase from 2014 to 2019, what is now only a marginally affordable market could be out of reach of many, if not most, current residents. Median household income is just over $83,000, and the cost of living is 5% higher than average.

Stockton, California

• Median sale price: $430,000 
• 2028 price forecast: $915,467 
• 2033 price forecast: $1,446,731

The Stockton real estate market saw the greatest 2014-2019 increase of any city on this list: a whopping 58%. 

Home prices are already well above average, and the overall cost of living is 19% higher than average. That makes it difficult for a household earning the city’s median income, $76,851, to buy. And it’s only going to get harder, with prices expected to more than double by 2028 and hit $1,446,731 by 2033. 

Denver, Colorado

• Median sale price: $620,000
• 2028 price forecast: $842,932
• 2033 price forecast: $1,296,676 

Denver is the second-fastest-growing market on this list, with 53.8% growth between 2014 and 2019, and about 109% growth expected from now through 2033. That could make real estate a tough sell for families with income at or below the $91,681 median. However, if you can swing it and overall living costs that are 9% above average, a Denver home purchase could be a great long-term investment.

Sacramento, California

• Median sale price: $485,000
• 2028 price forecast: $784,301
• 2033 price forecast: $1,103,325

Sacramento is one of the more affordable cities listed here, with median home prices well below $500,000 and median household income of $83,753, although the cost of living is 25% higher. 

Home prices grew 40.7% from 2014 to 2019. At that rate, they’ll hit a median $1,103,325 by 2033.

Boston, Massachusetts

• Median sale price: $799,000
• 2028 price forecast: $786,000
• 2033 price forecast: $991,804

Boston home prices increased just 26.2% from 2014 to 2019, and they could fall over the next few years before heading upward again. That’s likely good news for Boston renters who are already hard-pressed to buy on a median income of $94,755. It’s not just home prices that are high — the overall cost of living is 46% higher than the national average.

Honolulu, Hawaii

• Median sale price: $610,000
• 2028 price forecast: $883,931
• 2033 price forecast: $1,143,830

Hawaii has a well-deserved reputation for high home prices, but Honolulu is a pocket of relative affordability. Living costs are 85% higher than the national average, in large part because of home prices. But with a median household income of $104,264, earnings are also well above average. 

Honolulu home prices grew a robust 29.4% from 2014 to 2019, and they’re poised to reach over $1.14 million by 2033. 

Seattle, Washington

• Median sale price: $900,000
• 2028 price forecast: $1,015,739
• 2033 price forecast: $1,485,885

The priciest home market on Realtor.com’s list saw 46.3% growth from 2014 to 2019, and if the projections are correct, it’ll be the first to reach $1 million. 

The cost of living here is 46% above average due primarily to housing. But median household income is 51% above average — $121,984.

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