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20 Cities With Low Living Costs and Strong Economies in Fall 2024

November 9, 2024

3 min Read

Written by Gabrielle Olya

Edited by Chris Cluff

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Whether you’re looking to buy a home to live in or to rent out, affordability may be top of mind. If you’re looking to get work, or want to ensure you have a large pool of possible renters, buying in an area with a strong economy is also a good idea.

A new ranking from The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com analyzed 200 metro areas to identify the markets that offer prospective homebuyers a lower cost of living, including for homes, and thriving local economies. Here are the 20 markets that came out on top.

Also see states with the lowest cost of living for single people.

Canton-Massillon, Ohio

Population: 399,474
Unemployment rate: 4.7%
Median home listing price: $259,000

Akron, Ohio

Population: 698,398
Unemployment rate: 4.7%
Median home listing price: $230,000

Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin

Population: 1,560,424
Unemployment rate: 3.2%
Median home listing price: $390,000

Manchester-Nashua, New Hampshire

Population: 427,354
Unemployment rate: 2.6%
Median home listing price: $563,000

Kalamazoo-Portage, Michigan

Population: 262,215
Unemployment rate: 4.1%
Median home listing price: $360,000

Springfield, Massachusetts

Population: 460,291
Unemployment rate: 4.3%
Median home listing price: $393,000

Rockford, Illinois

Population: 334,124
Unemployment rate: 6.3%
Median home listing price: $223,000

Worcester, Massachusetts-Connecticut

Population: 866,866
Unemployment rate: 3.9%
Median home listing price: $525,000

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Ann Arbor, Michigan

Population: 365,536
Unemployment rate: 3.6%
Median home listing price: $509,000

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Population: 558,589
Unemployment rate: 2.7%
Median home listing price: $403,000

South Bend-Mishawaka, Indiana-Michigan

Population: 324,490
Unemployment rate: 4.8%
Median home listing price: $264,000

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Population: 457,842
Unemployment rate: 4.1%
Median home listing price: $308,000

Dayton, Ohio

Population: 814,363
Unemployment rate: 4.7%
Median home listing price: $250,000

Erie, Pennsylvania

Population: 267,571
Unemployment rate: 3.6%
Median home listing price: $240,000

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut

Population: 1,151,543
Unemployment rate: 3.4%
Median home listing price: $412,000

Columbus, Ohio

Population: 2,180,271
Unemployment rate: 4.2%
Median home listing price: $377,000

Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont

Population: 227,942
Unemployment rate: 1.8%
Median home listing price: $499,000

Rochester, New York

Population: 1,052,087
Unemployment rate: 3.9%
Median home listing price: $283,000

Toledo, Ohio

Population: 600,141
Unemployment rate: 5.3%
Median home listing price: $237,000

Appleton, Wisconsin

Population: 246,433
Unemployment rate: 2.5%
Median home listing price: $416,000

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