How Much House Does $300K Buy You in the South?

Across many U.S. regions, $300,000 in savings typically does not cover more than 1,000 square feet of home in high-cost-of-living areas. The South, however, is an exception to this rule. This amount covers a minimum of 1,200 square feet of home in Florida and Virginia and can buy more than 2,000 square feet in West Virginia.

To find out how much house you can afford on a $300,000 budget, GOBankingRates referenced an existing study from January 2025 and isolated the costs in the Southern states.

Keep reading to see how far a $300,000 homebuying budget takes you in the South.

• Housing cost-of-living index: 71.4
• Price per square foot: $160
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,875.8

• Housing cost-of-living index: 75.2
• Price per square foot: $168
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,781

• Housing cost-of-living index: 96.5
• Price per square foot: $216
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,387.9

• Housing cost-of-living index: 107.7
• Price per square foot: $241
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,243.5

• Housing cost-of-living index: 79.2
• Price per square foot: $177
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,691

• Housing cost-of-living index: 77.8
• Price per square foot: $174
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,721.5

• Housing cost-of-living index: 84.4
• Price per square foot: $189
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,586.8

• Housing cost-of-living index: 82.2
• Price per square foot: $184
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,629.3

• Housing cost-of-living index: 72.2
• Price per square foot: $162
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,855

• Housing cost-of-living index: 95.6
• Price per square foot: $214
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,400.9 

• Housing cost-of-living index: 74.7
• Price per square foot: $167
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,792.9

• Housing cost-of-living index: 86.4
• Price per square foot: $194
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,550.1

• Housing cost-of-living index: 82.8
• Price per square foot: $185
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,617.5

• Housing cost-of-living index: 81.3
• Price per square foot: $182
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,647.3

• Housing cost-of-living index: 103.8
• Price per square foot: $233
• Square feet for $300,000: 1,290.3 

• Housing cost-of-living index: 61.3
• Price per square foot: $137
• Square feet for $300,000: 2,184.8

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed each state to find out how much house $300,000 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 was calculated. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Jan. 3, 2025.