Where Is the Best Neighborhood To Buy a Home in Your State?

These areas offer a great deal on housing costs.

By Alexandria Bova September 11, 2020 Real Estate Investing 101

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COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - DECEMBER 13, 2015: United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel.

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With the rising costs of big-city living, many American families are opting to move to the suburbs to get more bang for their buck. As of 2018, 175 million Americans call suburbia home, with growth happening more rapidly there than in rural and urban areas of the country. In fact, many suburbs are growing twice as fast as their neighboring cities.

Millennials, in particular, are flocking to these greener pastures thanks to unaffordable housing options in the city. This generation is currently moving into a new stage of life, with marriage, children and a white picket fence possibly coming into the picture as they decide where to lay down roots.

However, low costs aren’t the only selling point of a good neighborhood. Factors like amenities, cost of living, schools, crime rates, employment, weather and housing are understandably at the top of people’s lists. It’s important to look at all of these metrics to gain a full understanding of what makes a community thrive.

To find the best neighborhood to buy a home in every state, GOBankingRates analyzed 2019 median home values from Zillow to compile a list of neighborhoods from each state. This study looked at all neighborhoods below the national median home value and cross-referenced this list with AreaVibes’ top 50 neighborhoods from each state. GOBankingRates’ study is in alphabetical order by state, and livability scores are out of 100 total points. You can find the state-by-state overall ranking by average home value on the last slide, which is ranked from highest to lowest home value. Check if your neighborhood is the best place to buy a home in your state.

Last updated: Sept. 11, 2020

Mobile, AL, USA - April 3, 2015: Typical old house in downtown district of Mobile, Alabama, USA.

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Allard1 / Getty Images

Alabama

Best neighborhood: Brookwood
City: Mobile
2019 average home value: $111,874
Livability score: 81

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - JUNE 8 - A scenic backyard view in a local neighborhood on June 8 2019 in Anchorage Alaska.

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Alaska

Best neighborhood: Downtown
City: Anchorage
2019 average home value: $300,135
Livability score: 59

Colorful townhouses on Broadway boulevard in downtown Tucson Arizona USA.

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Arizona

Best neighborhood: Adelanto
City: Tucson
2019 average home value: $133,766
Livability score: 83

Capitol View Stifft's Station, Arkansas.

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Bruce W. Stacener / Wikimedia Commons

Arkansas

Best neighborhood: Capitol View-Stifft Station
City: Little Rock
2019 average home value: $135,974
Livability score: 68

Northeast Bakersfield, California, exhibits fall colors even in the semitropic region.

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California

Best neighborhood: Homaker Park
City: Bakersfield
2019 average home value: $109,397
Livability score: 64

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Red spires of the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs on a beautiul spring afternoon.

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Colorado

Best neighborhood: Southeast Colorado Springs
City: Colorado Springs
2019 average home value: $236,752
Livability score: 65

Torrington, Connecticut USA July 25, 2018 A single family house dressed up with American flags and other Americana.

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Alexander Farnsworth / Getty Images

Connecticut

Best neighborhood: Torringford
City: Torrington
2019 average home value: $160,553
Livability score: 72

Recitation Hall at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware.

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Delaware

Best neighborhood: Robscott Manor
City: Newark
2019 average home value: $229,347
Livability score: 70

good view of a sunshine afternoon at Clearwater of Florid America.

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Florida

Best neighborhood: Alcove
City: Clearwater
2019 average home value: $57,938
Livability score: 89

Augusta, Georgia, USA - May 6, 2016: The boyhood home of Woodrow Wilson in downtown Augusta, Georgia on a sunny day.

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Georgia

Best neighborhood: Sand Hills
City: Augusta
2019 average home value: $56,917
Livability score: 80

Scenic Honolulu Oahu Hawaii Suburban Neighborhood.

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Hawaii

Best neighborhood: Hawaii Kai
City: Honolulu
2019 average home value: $1,042,007
Livability score: 78

This is a suburban neighborhood in Boise Idaho.

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Idaho

Best neighborhood: Pioneer
City: Boise
2019 average home value: $232,104
Livability score: 62

See: Best Places To Buy a Home for First-Time Homebuyers

House on Central Park Avenue in Mount Greenwood, a Chicago community on the Far Southwest Side.

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Illinois

Best neighborhood: Mount Greenwood
City: Chicago
2019 average home value: $237,520
Livability score: 77

Aerial view over the downtown city skyline of Fort Wayne Indiana USA.

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Indiana

Best neighborhood: Blum
City: Fort Wayne
2019 average home value: $118,694
Livability score: 85

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Iowa

Best neighborhood: Waveland Park
City: Des Moines
2019 average home value: $190,455
Livability score: 84

Wichita, Kansas, USA downtown skyline at dusk.

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Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Kansas

Best neighborhood: Crown Heights
City: Wichita
2019 average home value: $164,404
Livability score: 75

Louisville, Kentucky, USA - April 13, 2019: People walking on West Main Street, among the old buildings at downtown.

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Roberto Galan / Getty Images

Kentucky

Best neighborhood: Audubon
City: Louisville
2019 average home value: $190,867
Livability score: 88

Bossier City, LA, USA- May 23, 2016: The downtown skyline of Shreveport, Louisiana as viewed from the Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City.

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Louisiana

Best neighborhood: Hyde Park Brookwood, Southern Hills
City: Shreveport
2019 average home value: $133,352
Livability score: 86

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John Phelan / Wikimedia Commons

Maine

Best neighborhood: Cumberland Center
City: Cumberland
2019 average home value: $374,542
Livability score: 77

Baltimore, Maryland, USA cityscape overlooking little italy and neighborhoods.

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Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Maryland

Best neighborhood: Pulaski Industrial Area
City: Baltimore
2019 average home value: $112,154
Livability score: 65

Springfield is a city in Western Massachusetts in the Pioneer Valley region.

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Massachusetts

Best neighborhood: East Forest Park
City: Springfield
2019 average home value: $181,084
Livability score: 73

The Douglas Lighthouse on the Kalamazoo River.

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Michigan

Best neighborhood: Colony Farm
City: Kalamazoo
2019 average home value: $155,797
Livability score: 86

Showing beauty and architecture of South Minneapolis.

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Minnesota

Best neighborhood: Victory
City: Minneapolis
2019 average home value: $214,754
Livability score: 71

Jackson, Mississippi, USA cityscape at dusk.

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Mississippi

Best neighborhood: Heatherwood
City: Jackson
2019 average home value: $181,146
Livability score: 86

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Missouri

Best neighborhood: Hi-Pointe
City: St. Louis
2019 average home value: $141,001
Livability score: 86

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Montana

Best neighborhood: Northside
City: Missoula
2019 average home value: $235,154
Livability score: 72

Lincoln, Nebraska, USA - July 9, 2013: People in the busy downtown area of Lincoln, the capital city of the state of Nebraska with a colorful pedestrian bridge which is part of the city's effort to make the area more appealing.

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Nebraska

Best neighborhood: 40th & A
City: Lincoln
2019 average home value: $159,012
Livability score: 84

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Nevada

Best neighborhood: Townsite
City: Henderson
2019 average home value: $209,166
Livability score: 68

Somerville is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, in Middlesex County.

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New Hampshire

Best neighborhood: Somerville
City: Manchester
2019 average home value: $229,004
Livability score: 63

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Jerrye and Roy Klotz / Wikimedia Commons

New Jersey

Best neighborhood: Echelon
City: Voorhees Township
2019 average home value: $223,035
Livability score: 76

Photo of a city street with new, colorful townhouses in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

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New Mexico

Best neighborhood: Sun North Estates
City: Albuquerque
2019 average home value: $85,347
Livability score: 81

Buffalo is the second largest city in the state of New York and the 81st most populous city in the United States.

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New York

Best neighborhood: South Park
City: Buffalo
2019 average home value: $132,437
Livability score: 83

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Drone Aerial of Downtown Greensboro North Carolina NC Skyline - Image.

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North Carolina

Best neighborhood: Glenwood
City: Greensboro
2019 average home value: $67,017
Livability score: 80

Fargo, North Dakota, USA - June 12, 2017: Daytime view of the Fargo Theatre along Broadway N in the Downtown Historic District.

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North Dakota

Best neighborhood: Madison-Unicorn Park
City: Fargo
2019 average home value: $149,363
Livability score: 75

Akron, United States - May 29, 2014: Downtown Akron skyline with the words "Akron"on a sign in the center, and a colorful mural to the right.

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Davel5957 / Getty Images

Ohio

Best neighborhood: Northwest Akron
City: Akron
2019 average home value: $173,720
Livability score: 85

Golden sunset over the port at lake Thunderbird, Norman, Oklahoma - Image.

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Oklahoma

Best neighborhood: Downtown
City: Norman
2019 average home value: $143,363
Livability score: 81

Bridges that span the Willamette River in Albany, Oregon.

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Oregon

Best neighborhood: Willamette
City: Albany
2019 average home value: $216,617
Livability score: 80

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Pennsylvania

Best neighborhood: Summer Hill
City: Pittsburgh
2019 average home value: $150,157
Livability score: 85

Crowds gather along Woonasquatucket river in Providence, RI in preparation for the summer series known as WaterFire, which consists of fiery wooden blocks placed along the river during the nighttime.

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gregobagel / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Rhode Island

Best neighborhood: Manton
City: Providence
2019 average home value: $200,685
Livability score: 72

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South Carolina

Best neighborhood: St. Andrews
City: Columbia
2019 average home value: $118,320
Livability score: 74

SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA - JUNE 21, 2017: Riverwalk along the Big Sioux River.

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Steve Cukrov / Shutterstock.com

South Dakota

Best neighborhood: Silver Valley
City: Sioux Falls
2019 average home value: $197,783
Livability score: 73

people crossing Broadway Street in Nashville downtown during a bright fall day.

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MoreISO / Getty Images

Tennessee

Best neighborhood: Hermitage Hills
City: Nashville
2019 average home value: $222,815
Livability score: 81

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Texas

Best neighborhood: Northwest Crossing
City: San Antonio
2019 average home value: $179,184
Livability score: 92

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Logan, Utah, United States - August 31, 2018: Mural showing a traditional family with a couple passing by in the foreground taken in Logan, Utah.

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Daniel Gauthier / Getty Images

Utah

Best neighborhood: Bridger
City: Logan
2019 average home value: $205,673
Livability score: 71

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Vermont

Best neighborhood: East Barre
City: Barre
2019 average home value: $159,114
Livability score: 65

Richmond, VA, USA April 4, 2006 Two adult men walk past the historic homes on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia.

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Kirkikis / Getty Images

Virginia

Best neighborhood: Cherry Gardens
City: Richmond
2019 average home value: $147,670
Livability score: 81

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Washington

Best neighborhood: Highlands
City: Longview
2019 average home value: $170,768
Livability score: 80

Row of homes in downtown Charleston, West Virginia.

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West Virginia

Best neighborhood: North Charleston
City: Charleston
2019 average home value: $50,715
Livability score: 63

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Wisconsin

Best neighborhood: Mount Mary
City: Milwaukee
2019 average home value: $192,646
Livability score: 83

JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING - SEP 28: Downtown Jackson Hole Wyoming USA on September 28, 2015 It was named after David Edward "Davey" Jackson who trapped beaver in the area in the early nineteenth century.

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Wyoming

Best neighborhood: Rafter J Ranch
City: Jackson
2019 average home value: $694,997
Livability score: 64

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Overall Ranking

The best neighborhoods in each state were ranked from highest to lowest average home value:

Hawaii Kai, Honolulu: $1,042,007
Rafter J Ranch, Jackson, Wyoming: $694,997
Cumberland Center, Cumberland, Maine: $374,542
Downtown, Anchorage, Alaska: $300,135
Mount Greenwood, Chicago: $237,520
Southeast Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado: $236,752
Northside, Missoula, Montana: $235,154
Pioneer, Boise, Idaho: $232,104
Robscott Manor, Newark, Delaware: $229,347
Somerville, Manchester, New Hampshire: $229,004
Echelon, Voorhees Township, New Jersey: $223,035
Hermitage Hills, Nashville, Tennessee: $222,815
Willamette, Albany, Oregon: $216,617
Victory, Minneapolis: $214,754
Townsite, Henderson, Nevada: $209,166
Bridger, Logan, Utah: $205,673
Manton, Providence, Rhode Island: $200,685
Silver Valley, Sioux Falls, South Dakota: $197,783
Mount Mary, Milwaukee: $192,646
Audubon, Louisville, Kentucky: $190,867
Waveland Park, Des Moines, Iowa: $190,455
Heatherwood, Jackson, Mississippi: $181,146
East Forest Park, Springfield, Massachusetts: $181,084
Northwest Crossing, San Antonio: $179,184
Northwest Akron, Akron, Ohio: $173,720
Highlands, Longview, Washington: $170,768
Crown Heights, Wichita, Kansas: $164,404
Torringford, Torrington, Connecticut: $160,553
East Barre, Barre, Vermont: $159,114
40th & A, Lincoln, Nebraska: $159,012
Colony Farm, Kalamazoo, Michigan: $155,797
Summer Hill, Pittsburgh: $150,157
Madison-Unicorn Park, Fargo, North Dakota: $149,363
Cherry Gardens, Richmond, Virginia: $147,670
Downtown, Norman, Oklahoma: $143,363
Hi-Pointe, St. Louis: $141,001
Capitol View-Schifft Station, Little Rock, Arkansas: $135,974
Adelanto, Tucson, Arizona: $133,766
Hyde Park Brookwood, Southern Hills, Shreveport, Louisiana: $133,352
South Park, Buffalo, New York: $132,437
Blum, Fort Wayne, Indiana: $118,694
St. Andrews, Columbia, South Carolina: $118,320
Pulaski Industrial Area, Baltimore: $112,154
Brookwood, Mobile, Alabama: $111,874
Homaker Park, Bakersfield, California: $109,397
Sun North Estates, Albuquerque, New Mexico: $85,347
Glenwood, Greensboro, North Carolina: $67,017
Alcove, Clearwater, Florida: $57,938
Sand Hills, Augusta, Georgia: $56,917
North Charleston, Charleston, West Virginia: $50,715

More From GOBankingRates

Methodology: In order to find the best neighborhood to buy a home in every state, GOBankingRates used 2019 median home values (January through November) from Zillow to populate a list of neighborhoods from each state. From there, GOBankingRates looked at all neighborhoods where homes fell below the 2019 national median home value and then cross-referenced these homes with the top 50 best neighborhoods from each state, sourced from AreaVibes. Both these factors were then scored and combined, with a lower score being best. Hawaii, Wyoming, Maine and Alaska include neighborhoods with a median home value above the national average. Only the neighborhoods that were included in AreaVibes’ top 50 for each state were given a livability score. In the final calculations, the livability factor was weighted double. All data used to conduct this study was compiled and verified on Dec. 31, 2019, and is subject to change.