How Much House Does $500K Buy You in Western States?

The amount of house you can get for half a million dollars varies widely across the United States. In West Virginia, for example, you can get over 3,600 square feet of space for $500,000. But, in the West, the best you can do for that price is around 2,600 square feet.

To find out how much house a $500,000 budget will get you, GOBankingRates used data from the Federal Reserve of St. Louis to find the median listing price across the United States. The price per square foot for each state was then calculated.

See how much house you can get for $500,000 across the Western states.

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,895
• Price per square foot: $264
• Housing cost-of-living index: 117.8

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,641
• Price per square foot: $305
• Housing cost-of-living index: 136

Read More: I’m a Realtor — 5 Cities Retirees Are Moving To in 2025

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,068
• Price per square foot: $468
• Housing cost-of-living index: 209.1

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,074
• Price per square foot: $241
• Housing cost-of-living index: 107.6

• Square feet for $500,000: 738
• Price per square foot: $678
• Housing cost-of-living index: 302.6

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,252
• Price per square foot: $222
• Housing cost-of-living index: 99.1

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,638
• Price per square foot: $190
• Housing cost-of-living index: 84.6

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,629
• Price per square foot: $190
• Housing cost-of-living index: 84.9

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,090
• Price per square foot: $239
• Housing cost-of-living index: 106.8

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,695
• Price per square foot: $295
• Housing cost-of-living index: 131.7

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,721
• Price per square foot: $291
• Housing cost-of-living index: 129.7

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,762
• Price per square foot: $284
• Housing cost-of-living index: 126.7

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,477
• Price per square foot: $202
• Housing cost-of-living index: 90.1

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 November 2024. Next, GOBankingRates found the housing cost index for each state, as sourced from the Missouri Economic and Research Information Center for Quarter 3 of 2024. Using this data, the price per square foot for each state was calculated, and using $300,000, $400,000, and $500,000 savings as a starting point, the total affordable square foot could calculated for each state. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Jan. 3, 2025.