# The Cheapest Places to Live in the U.S.

By: [Team Stash](/content/learn/author/team-stash/index.html)  
Published: May 23, 2018  
• Updated: Jun 09, 2026

Want to buy a house? Here’s where you can do it.

#### In this article:

1. [**The true cost of buying a home**](/content/learn/cheapest-places-live-us/#the-true-cost-of-buying-a-home/index.html)
2. [**America’s cheapest housing markets**](/content/learn/cheapest-places-live-us/#americas-cheapest-housing-markets/index.html)

Looking to buy a house? Depending on where you live, it could be a lot more expensive than you thought.

Home prices in many American cities [continue to rise](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/13/economist-home-prices-are-increasing-twice-as-fast-as-income-growth.html). The median price of a new house in the U.S., as of the beginning of 2018, was $337,200, according to [government data](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPNHSUS).

And yet, that looks downright reasonable compared to some of the country’s most expensive housing markets.

The median price for a house in San Francisco, for example, is now more than $1.6 million, according to [industry data](https://www.paragon-re.com/trend/san-francisco-home-prices-market-trends-news). In New York City, it’s [$1.5 million](https://www.realtor.com/local/New-York_NY).

While those markets are outliers, prices nationwide have been on a slow and steady rise [for decades](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPNHSUS).

To illustrate, consider the median price of a new house 30 years ago, in May of 1988. At that time, the median price was $110,000, according to government data. 20 years ago, in 1998, it was $153,200. And 10 years ago (in the midst of the housing crisis), it was $229,300.

Despite the considerable rise in housing costs, millions of Americans still aspire to own homes.

## The true cost of buying a home

But housing prices are only one piece of the puzzle. Buying a house comes with a number of additional costs and fees that many prospective homeowners overlook or don’t account for.

These costs can include:

- Inspection fees  
- Closing costs  
- Property taxes  
- Time and money spent researching and visiting homes that are on the market

On top of that, it’s generally expected that a buyer will have saved up between 3.5% and 20% of the purchase price as a down payment. You’ll need some money in the bank, too, as cash reserves to make sure you can make your initial monthly payments.

## America’s cheapest housing markets

The good news is that you don’t need to live in a treehouse or a shoebox to find an affordable home.

There are still places where houses sell for a relative bargain—if you know where to look.

These ten cities are home to America’s cheapest housing markets (as of January 2018), [according to data](https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/most-affordable-metros/) from the National Association of Realtors.

| Location                   | Median home price |
|---------------------------|------------------|
| Marion, Indiana            | $66,750          |
| Danville, Illinois         | $69,700          |
| Pottsville, Pennsylvania   | $69,900          |
| Bay City, Michigan        | $88,900          |
| Weirton, West Virginia    | $90,000          |
| Pine Bluff, Arkansas      | $94,500          |
| Lima, Ohio               | $95,000          |
| Elmira, New York         | $109,000         |
| Topeka, Kansas           | $109,000         |
| Cumberland, Maryland      | $110,000         |

Written by [Team Stash](/content/learn/author/team-stash/index.html)

We want to turn money into a source of hope and opportunity. We teach people how to build good habits, save more and make it easy and affordable to get started investing. So far, we’ve helped over 6 million people create a more secure financial future with our expert advice and award winning investing app.