45 Great Cities With Shockingly Cheap Real Estate

There aren’t many silver linings to the coronavirus epidemic, but the low price of real estate in some cities may be one of them. While prices in some areas have risen in 2020, there are still plenty of extremely affordable cities in America that also have high quality-of-life rankings.

To help narrow down the choices, GOBankingRates looked at the 300 largest cities listed on real estate site Zillow and screened out those with prices of more than 75% of the national typical market value as of July 2020. Consumer Expenditure Survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Livability scores from AreaVibes were also incorporated to rank cities in reverse order of preference, with the top city listed last.

What’s clear from the rankings is that there are plenty of cheap cities in the American South and Midwest, with Texas alone occupying 14 of the top 45 slots. Ohio and Indiana also make impressive showings, but if you’re looking further west, you’re out of luck, as no cities west of Oklahoma appear in the rankings. While the affordable-yet-desirable cities on this list may be attractive to anyone, they may hold particular appeal for those living on a fixed income.

45. Pittsburgh

• Average home value: $183,002
• Livability score: 73
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,915

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44. Memphis, Tennessee

• Average home value: $100,126
• Livability score: 61
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,353

43. Pensacola, Florida

• Average home value: $163,749
• Livability score: 70
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,549

42. Winston-Salem, North Carolina

• Average home value: $162,797
• Livability score: 67
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,668

41. Montgomery, Alabama

• Average home value: $96,198
• Livability score: 61
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,238

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40. Tulsa, Oklahoma

• Average home value: $138,046
• Livability score: 68
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,692

39. Lafayette, Louisiana

• Average home value: $179,084
• Livability score: 72
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,256

38. Louisville, Kentucky

• Average home value: $188,495
• Livability score: 74
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,234

37. Evansville, Indiana

• Average home value: $137,014
• Livability score: 63
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,872

36. Indianapolis

• Average home value: $161,717
• Livability score: 68
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,328

35. Jackson, Mississippi

• Average home value: $40,024
• Livability score: 55
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,972

34. Laredo, Texas

• Average home value: $159,321
• Livability score: 71
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,129

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33. Roanoke, Virginia

• Average home value: $176,973
• Livability score: 74
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,098

32. Hampton, Virginia

• Average home value: $187,258
• Livability score: 76
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,205

31. Macon, Georgia

• Average home value: $94,612
• Livability score: 63
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,829

30. Pasadena, Texas

• Average home value: $167,992
• Livability score: 78
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $19,446

29. Joliet, Illinois

• Average home value: $154,129
• Livability score: 73
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,482

28. South Bend, Indiana

• Average home value: $117,642
• Livability score: 60
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $15,985

27. Columbus, Ohio

• Average home value: $188,697
• Livability score: 76
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,000

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26. Oklahoma City

• Average home value: $148,689
• Livability score: 76
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $19,454

25. Birmingham, Alabama

• Average home value: $65,091
• Livability score: 62
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,343

24. Lansing, Michigan

• Average home value: $102,572
• Livability score: 65
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,576

23. Corpus Christi, Texas

• Average home value: $165,405
• Livability score: 74
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,843

22. Dayton, Ohio

• Average home value: $66,103
• Livability score: 60
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,357

21. Hamilton, Ohio

• Average home value: $188,140
• Livability score: 76
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,489

20. Tyler, Texas

• Average home value: $165,958
• Livability score: 74
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,608

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19. Shreveport, Louisiana

• Average home value: $108,460
• Livability score: 67
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,472

18. Cleveland

• Average home value: $71,425
• Livability score: 62
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,276

17. Beaumont, Texas

• Average home value: $122,427
• Livability score: 69
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,383

16. Toledo, Ohio

• Average home value: $81,727
• Livability score: 63
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,088

15. Cedar Rapids, Iowa

• Average home value: $157,643
• Livability score: 77
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,180

14. Lakeland, Florida

• Average home value: $186,265
• Livability score: 81
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,200

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13. Lubbock, Texas

• Average home value: $154,230
• Livability score: 74
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,314

12. Waco, Texas

• Average home value: $147,850
• Livability score: 72
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,777

11. Canton, Ohio

• Average home value: $112,904
• Livability score: 67
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,554

10. Des Moines, Iowa

• Average home value: $152,873
• Livability score: 78
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,935

9. Abilene, Texas

• Average home value: $142,954
• Livability score: 76
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,488

8. Akron, Ohio

• Average home value: $76,255
• Livability score: 65
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,641

7. Killeen, Texas

• Average home value: $140,606
• Livability score: 77
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,538

6. El Paso, Texas

• Average home value: $141,911
• Livability score: 78
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,592

5. Edinburg, Texas

• Average home value: $138,945
• Livability score: 79
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,266

4. McAllen, Texas

• Average home value: $150,699
• Livability score: 83
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,711

3. Amarillo, Texas

• Average home value: $139,134
• Livability score: 81
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,367

2. Brownsville, Texas

• Average home value: $107,870
• Livability score: 76
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,957

1. Fort Wayne, Indiana

• Average home value: $152,531
• Livability score: 80
• Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,375

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Methodology: In order to find 45 great cities with shockingly cheap real estate, GOBankingRates looked at the 300 largest cities in the U.S. for which Zillow publishes monthly data on single-family home values. Out of these 300 cities, GOBankingRates identified the 81 which had (1) a typical market value for single-family residences less than 75% of the national typical market value in July 2020. Then, GOBankingRates found each city’s (2) livability score from AreaVibes, which scores cities on criteria like crime rate, employment, school quality, user review ratings and more. Finally, GOBankingRates used July 2018-June 2019 Consumer Expenditure Survey data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and cost of living index scores from Sperling’s Best Places to calculate (3) the total dollar amount residents of each city can expect to spend annually on necessities other than housing (including groceries, utilities, transportation and healthcare). GOBankingRates then scored each qualifying city on factors (1-3) and ranked them against each other, with factor (2) weighted twice as heavily as factors (1) and (3). The final ranking highlights the highest-scoring cities, with no. 1 being the best overall. All data was collected on and up to date as of Aug. 25, 2020.

About the Author

John Csiszar

After earning a B.A. in English with a Specialization in Business from UCLA, John Csiszar worked in the financial services industry as a registered representative for 18 years. Along the way, Csiszar earned both Certified Financial Planner and Registered Investment Adviser designations, in addition to being licensed as a life agent, while working for both a major Wall Street wirehouse and for his own investment advisory firm. During his time as an advisor, Csiszar managed over $100 million in client assets while providing individualized investment plans for hundreds of clients.

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