How Much House Does $500K Buy You in the Midwest?

You can buy at least 2,000 square feet of home across the entire Midwest if you have a savings of $500,000. And in Kansas, this is enough money to pay for over 3,000 square feet worth of property.

Using an existing January 2025 study about the amount of home $300,000, $400,000 and $500,000 can purchase across the United States, GOBankingRates pulled data as it pertained to a $500,000 budget for purchasing square footage in the Midwestern states. A full methodology is available at the end of this article.

See how far your $500,000 homebuying budget goes in the Midwest.

• Housing cost-of-living index: 84.2
• Price per square foot: $189
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,651

• Housing cost-of-living index: 77.3
• Price per square foot: $173
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,887.6

• Housing cost-of-living index: 75.4
• Price per square foot: $169
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,960.4

• Housing cost-of-living index: 70.7
• Price per square foot: $158
• Square feet for $500,000: 3,157.2

• Housing cost-of-living index: 78.5
• Price per square foot: $176
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,843.5

• Housing cost-of-living index: 80.3
• Price per square foot: $180
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,779.8

• Housing cost-of-living index: 78.6
• Price per square foot: $176
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,839.9

• Housing cost-of-living index: 79.5
• Price per square foot: $178
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,807.7

• Housing cost-of-living index: 79.8
• Price per square foot: $179
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,797.2

• Housing cost-of-living index: 87.6
• Price per square foot: $196
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,548.1

• Housing cost-of-living index: 89.7
• Price per square foot: $201
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,488.5

• Housing cost-of-living index: 98.5
• Price per square foot: $221
• Square feet for $500,000: 2,266.1

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed each U.S. 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 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 Jan. 3, 2025.