According to Zillow, the typical home value in the United States is about $350,091. Depending on the home, the state, the neighborhood, and the market, however, that amount can vary widely.
And with housing prices that keep rising — earlier this year, the average was about $327,000 — combined with high interest rates, some prospective homeowners might be looking to move to another city or state to find the home of their dreams. But where will they go?
Despite all that, every state is home to at least a handful of places where buyers can expect to scoop up a house on the cheap. To find the least expensive places to buy a home, GOBankingRates used data from Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) and the U.S. Census Bureau regarding population in order to analyze every significant city in all 50 states and chose the one place in each locale where houses are a steal.
Here’s where homebuyers on a budget should start their search.
Alabama
- Cheapest Place: Selmont-West Selmont
- 2023 ZHVI: $26,907.01
- Total Population: 1,995
Alaska
- Cheapest Place: Ninilchik
- 2023 ZHVI: $203,976.93
- Total Population: 964
Arizona
- Cheapest Place: Bowie
- 2023 ZHVI: $82,555.38
- Total Population: 320
Arkansas
- Cheapest Place: Grubbs
- 2023 ZHVI: $36,023.51
- Total Population: 416
California
- Cheapest Place: Johannesburg
- 2023 ZHVI: $95,686.53
- Total Population: 90
Colorado
- Cheapest Place: Las Animas
- 2023 ZHVI: $93,021.01
- Total Population: 2,564
Connecticut
- Cheapest Place: Hartford
- 2023 ZHVI: $229,199,63
- Total Population: 121,562
Delaware
- Cheapest Place: Little Creek
- 2023 ZHVI: $188,307.07
- Total Population: 248
District of Colombia
- Cheapest Place: Washington, D.C.
- 2023 ZHVI: $722,785.93
- Total Population: 683,154
Florida
- Cheapest Place: Gretna
- 2023 ZHVI: $83,913.77
- Total Population: 1,247
Georgia
- Cheapest Place: Lumpkin
- 2023 ZHVI: $41,536.21
- Total Population: 862
Hawaii
- Cheapest Place: Pahoa
- 2023 ZHVI: $279,815.53
- Total Population: 1,336
Idaho
- Cheapest Place: Pierce
- 2023 ZHVI: $185,619.88
- Total Population: 481
Illinois
- Cheapest Place: Cairo
- 2023 ZHVI: $19,759.71
- Total Population: 1,694
Indiana
- Cheapest Place: Jasonville
- 2023 ZHVI: $69,864.45
- Total Population: 1,935
Iowa
- Cheapest Place: Mystic
- 2023 ZHVI: $53,950.55
- Total Population: 337
Kansas
- Cheapest Place: Sedan
- 2023 ZHVI: $39,922.63
- Total Population: 873
Kentucky
- Cheapest Place: Wheelwright
- 2023 ZHVI: $40,091.90
- Total Population: 777
Louisiana
- Cheapest Place: Rodessa
- 2023 ZHVI: $51,729.93
- Total Population: 150
Maine
- Cheapest Place: Van Buren
- 2023 ZHVI: $112,255.80
- Total Population: 1,596
Maryland
- Cheapest Place: Kitzmiller
- 2023 ZHVI: $70,155.67
- Total Population: 229
Massachusetts
- Cheapest Place: North Adams
- 2023 ZHVI: $231,801.34
- Total Population: 13,024
Michigan
- Cheapest Place: Beecher
- 2023 ZHVI: $35,217.92
- Total Population: 9,171
Minnesota
- Cheapest Place: Elmore
- 2023 ZHVI: $66,721
- Total Population: 398
Mississippi
- Cheapest Place: Clarksdale
- 2023 ZHVI: $47,648.91
- Total Population: 15,124
Missouri
- Cheapest Place: Hillsdale
- 2023 ZHVI: $37,847.55
- Total Population: 934
Montana
- Cheapest Place: Browning
- 2023 ZHVI: $133,406.20
- Total Population: 851
Nebraska
- Cheapest Place: Walthill
- 2023 ZHVI: $53,750.74
- Total Population: 880
Nevada
- Cheapest Place: Austin
- 2023 ZHVI: $72,914.97
- Total Population: 18
New Hampshire
- Cheapest Place: Groveton
- 2023 ZHVI: $153,511.01
- Total Population: 892
New Jersey
- Cheapest Place: Camden
- 2023 ZHVI: $111,456.76
- Total Population: 72,381
New Mexico
- Cheapest Place: Tucumcari
- 2023 ZHVI: $79,381
- Total Population: 5,221
New York
- Cheapest Place: Lyon Mountain
- 2023 ZHVI: $54,356.54
- Total Population: 256
North Carolina
- Cheapest Place: Roxobel
- 2023 ZHVI: $37,497.18
- Total Population: 224
North Dakota
- Cheapest Place: Drake
- 2023 ZHVI: $86,510.78
- Total Population: 339
Ohio
- Cheapest Place: Drexel
- 2023 ZHVI: $43,850.55
- Total Population: 1,732
Oklahoma
- Cheapest Place: Grandfield
- 2023 ZHVI: $36,349.68
- Total Population: 936
Oregon
- Cheapest Place: Condon
- 2023 ZHVI: $160,483.04
- Total Population: 763
Pennsylvania
- Cheapest Place: Girardville
- 2023 ZHVI: $32,587.41
- Total Population: 1,360
Rhode Island
- Cheapest Place: Central Falls
- 2023 ZHVI: $322,266.99
- Total Population: 22,192
South Carolina
- Cheapest Place: Wagener
- 2023 ZHVI: $43,440.76
- Total Population: 1,357
South Dakota
- Cheapest Place: Lemmon
- 2023 ZHVI: $92,496.39
- Total Population: 1,252
Tennessee
- Cheapest Place: Ridgely
- 2023 ZHVI: $88,515.45
- Total Population: 1,950
Texas
- Cheapest Place: Rochester
- 2023 ZHVI: $48,611.98
- Total Population: 315
Utah
- Cheapest Place: Emery
- 2023 ZHVI: $189,196.44
- Total Population: 375
Vermont
- Cheapest Place: North Troy
- 2023 ZHVI: $156,570.38
- Total Population: 570
Virginia
- Cheapest Place: Appalachia
- 2023 ZHVI: $38,627.02
- Total Population: 1,472
Washington
- Cheapest Place: Lind
- 2023 ZHVI: $183,774.44
- Total Population: 486
West Virginia
- Cheapest Place: Northfork
- 2023 ZHVI: $26,217.91
- Total Population: 367
Wisconsin
- Cheapest Place: Montreal
- 2023 ZHVI: $105,546.61
- Total Population: 749
Wyoming
- Cheapest Place: Midwest
- 2023 ZHVI: $66,513.74
- Total Population: 193
Andrew Lisa and Jami Farkas contributed to the reporting of this article.
Methodology: To find the cheapest place to buy a home in every state, GOBankingRates analyzed every state to find the cities with the cheapest median home values, the city, and the state as sourced from Zillow Home Value Index. For each city, the total population was sourced from the US Census American Consumer Survey as supplemental data. All data was collected and is up-to-date as-of October 10th, 2023.
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