How Much House Does $400K Buy You in the South?

A savings of $400,000 is enough money to buy a minimum of 1,600 square feet of home in each of the 16 states that make up the Southern region of the United States.

Utilizing an existing study on how much house one can afford with $400,000, GOBankingRates sourced each state’s median listing price per square foot and housing cost index to find out what the price per square foot would be in each Southern state.

Find out how much square footage you can buy with $400,000 in savings in the South.

• Housing cost-of-living index: 71.4
• Price per square foot: $160
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,501

• Housing cost-of-living index: 75.2
• Price per square foot: $168
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,374.6

• Housing cost-of-living index: 96.5
• Price per square foot: $216
• Square feet for $400,000: 1,850.5

• Housing cost-of-living index: 107.7
• Price per square foot: $241
• Square feet for $400,000: 1,658

• Housing cost-of-living index: 79.2
• Price per square foot: $177
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,254.7

• Housing cost-of-living index: 77.8
• Price per square foot: $174
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,295.3

• Housing cost-of-living index: 84.4
• Price per square foot: $189
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,115.8

• Housing cost-of-living index: 82.2
• Price per square foot: $184
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,172.4

• Housing cost-of-living index: 72.2
• Price per square foot: $162
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,473.3

• Housing cost-of-living index: 95.6
• Price per square foot: $214
• Square feet for $400,000: 1,867.9

• Housing cost-of-living index: 74.7
• Price per square foot: $167
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,390.5

• Housing cost-of-living index: 86.4
• Price per square foot: $194
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,066.8

• Housing cost-of-living index: 82.8
• Price per square foot: $185
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,156.7

• Housing cost-of-living index: 81.3
• Price per square foot: $182
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,196.5

• Housing cost-of-living index: 103.8
• Price per square foot: $233
• Square feet for $400,000: 1,720.3

• Housing cost-of-living index: 61.3
• Price per square foot: $137
• Square feet for $400,000: 2,913.1

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed each U.S. state to find out how much house $400,000 can afford. First GOBankingRates found the median listing price per square foot in the U.S. as sourced from the Federal Reserve of St. Louis for the month of November 2024. Next, GOBankingRates found the housing cost index for each state as sourced from the Missouri Economic and Research Information Center for Q3 of 2024. Using this data, the price per square foot for each state can be calculated, and using $300,000, $400,000, and $500,000 savings as a starting point, the total affordable square footage can be calculated for each state. All data was collected on and is up to date as of January 3rd, 2025.