Most Affordable U.S. City to Buy a Home

The cost of homes in the U.S. is skyrocketing. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the median sales price went from $313,000 at the beginning of 2019 to $416,900 at the beginning of 2025. And, as WalletHub noted, that doesn't account for the rise in mortgage rates, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumping from 2.65 percent in January 2021 to 6.87 percent in January 2025. However, you can still find a great deal in certain parts of the country. 

On May 20, WalletHub released its latest report identifying the most affordable cities for home buyers. The company compared 300 U.S. cities across 10 key metrics, including housing affordability, the average cost per square foot, average cost of home insurance, the city's cost of living, and the real estate tax rate. Flint, Michigan, came out on top.

“Flint is the most affordable city for home buyers, boasting the lowest cost of living index (COLI) in the country and the most affordable home prices relative to residents’ income,” the report stated. “It also has the lowest median home price per square foot, at only $61. To put that in perspective, the price in the most expensive cities is over $1,000 per square foot.” 

Flint also has a very high rent-to-price ratio, meaning it’s “cheaper to buy property than it is to rent it,” WalletHub reported.

The report indicated that part of the city's affordability is likely due to its water crisis, but added that “Flint’s drinking water has now been in compliance with EPA standards for six years,” making it a great place to revisit. 

“We have new infrastructure. We have new state-of-the-art technologies,” Mayor Sheldon Neeley shared in 2024. “Residents of this community never again have to worry about drinking from the Flint River water.”

Joining Flint at the top of the list is another Michigan city: Detroit. The median home value in Motor City is a little over twice the median household income, while the median price per square foot is just $87.

“Due to people moving out of Detroit during the past financial crisis, over 22 percent of housing in the city is vacant, which makes it a buyers’ market compared to other cities where available houses are scarce,” the report noted.

And rounding out the top three is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which the study found has the 23rd-highest rent-to-price ratio in the nation, indicating that buying a home is a better investment than renting. Steel City also performs well in the housing affordability category, with a median home price around 3.8 times higher than the median household income.

Of course, as Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst, noted, a lot goes into choosing where to live. But at least this study offers a good financial insight into where to start. 

“When deciding where to buy a home, home prices alone aren’t a good enough indicator of how affordable things will be,” Lupo said. “You also have to consider how the average price compares to a typical income in the area, plus things like the overall cost of living and the costs of maintenance and taxes.”

See the full study rankings of all 300 cities at wallethub.com.