How Much House Does $500K Buy You on the East Coast?

It probably comes as no surprise that housing on the East Coast tends to be on the expensive side. A recent GOBankingRates study looked at how much house you can get in every state for $300,000, $400,000 and $500,000. Five of the 10 most expensive states were on the East Coast.

Just five of the 13 East Coast states had housing cost-of-living indexes less than the average in America.

Check out how much house you could get for $500,000 on the East Coast.

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,818
• Price per square foot: $177
• Housing cost-of-living index: 79.2

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,716
• Price per square foot: $184
• Housing cost-of-living index: 82.2

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,673
• Price per square foot: $187
• Housing cost-of-living index: 83.5

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,584
• Price per square foot: $194
• Housing cost-of-living index: 86.4

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,335
• Price per square foot: $214
• Housing cost-of-living index: 95.6

• Square feet for $500,000: 2,150
• Price per square foot: $233
• Housing cost-of-living index: 103.8

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,921
• Price per square foot: $260
• Housing cost-of-living index: 116.2

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,905
• Price per square foot: $263
• Housing cost-of-living index: 117.2

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,677
• Price per square foot: $298
• Housing cost-of-living index: 133.1

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,644
• Price per square foot: $304
• Housing cost-of-living index: 135.8

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,615
• Price per square foot: $310
• Housing cost-of-living index: 138.2

• Square feet for $500,000: 1,311
• Price per square foot: $381
• Housing cost-of-living index: 170.2

• Square feet for $500,000: 988
• Price per square foot: $506
• Housing cost-of-living index: 226

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.