Housing Costs

These 20 "Desirable" Places Still Have Affordable Homes

More than half of the “desirable” places that made the list are in the Southeastern U.S.

by Devan McGuinness
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
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Inflation rates are at a 40-year high. Parents are struggling to meet basic needs for their families. The average family spends $250 extra a month on necessities, gas prices are hovering around $5 per gallon, and daycare costs are through the roof. Add in the fact that affordable housing is nearly non-existent at this point, and it’s no surprise that people are struggling. But, according to a recent analysis, there are some places in the U.S. where homes are affordable. Here’s what you need to know.

MoneyGeek compiled a recent analysis looking at homeownership costs and found 20 counties across the country where owning a home wasn’t too out from the area’s median income. The site looked at data from the National Associations of Realtors, including historical home prices, median mortgage payments, and fair market rent.

In addition, they looked at data from SmartAsset for local property tax rates and U.S. Census data to calculate population growth and median earnings to find the counties in the country that are growing, but still affordable.

To make the list of “desirable” counties that have affordable housing, several metrics had to be met. “To qualify for the list, the estimated monthly homeownership cost — including mortgage, property taxes, insurance, etc. — had to be under 50% of the monthly median income,” MoneyGeek explains.

“That means the average county resident buying the average-priced house would be spending anywhere from 34% to 49% of their income on housing costs.”

20 Most Affordable and Desirable Counties:

  1. Clayton County, Georgia
  2. Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
  3. Lexington County, South Carolina
  4. Madison County, Alabama
  5. Marion County, Florida
  6. Hidalgo County, Texas
  7. Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
  8. Benton County, Arkansas
  9. Escambia County, Florida
  10. Tulsa County, Oklahoma
  11. Spartanburg County, South Carolina
  12. St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
  13. Pasco County, Florida
  14. Lubbock County, Texas
  15. Forsyth County, North Carolina
  16. Douglas County, Nebraska
  17. Greenville County, South Carolina
  18. Richland County, South Carolina
  19. Webb County, Texas
  20. Knox County, Tennessee

To see the full set of data, check out MoneyGeek.

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