Those in their twenties and thirties are not as quick to buy homes as their parents before them. Skyrocketing interest rates have made home attainment more difficult, despite Scholaroo data that states 91 percent of Americans express a desire to buy a home at some point.
The percentage of households that own their homes is at 65.4.
There are states where it’s more feasible to own a home than others, though you still have to factor in wages in those areas. But, with remote work becoming more the norm, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to be making California (the second most expensive state to own a home) wages and living in Indiana (the second least expensive state to own a home when considering factors of income and property taxes).
Scholaroo’s recent report, Cheapest States to Buy a House, revealed several key insights:
- West Virginia has the most affordable median home value in the entire country, standing at $166,870. Close behind are Mississippi with $171,348, and Arkansas with $188,075.
- Hawaii takes the lead in having the highest median home value nationwide, at $850,934. California comes in second at $707,717, followed by New York at $558,897.
- In terms of the mortgage payment to monthly income ratio, Connecticut sits in the most favorable position in the nation, standing at 22.95%. Conversely, Hawaii holds the unenviable distinction of having the highest ratio at a significant 39.69%.
- When it comes to property taxes, Hawaii takes the lead with the lowest rate at just 0.31%. On the contrary, New Jersey imposes the highest property tax rate at 2.13%.
When factoring in average monthly household income; average monthly mortgage payment; median home value; mortgage payment to monthly income ratio; and property taxes, here is how states rank from the cheapest houses to most expensive:
- Minnesota
- Indiana
- Missouri
- Iowa
- West Virginia
- Michigan
- Kentucky
- Connecticut
- Ohio
- North Dakota
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Alabama
- Pennsylvania
- Wisconsin
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Oklahoma
- Wyoming
- Delaware
- Virginia
- South Carolina
- Mississippi
- Georgia
- Arkansas
- Illinois
- Tennessee
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- Texas
- New Mexico
- Vermont
- Maine
- Alaska
- Idaho
- Arizona
- Rhode Island
- Florida
- New Jersey
- South Dakota
- New York
- Washington
- Massachusetts
- Colorado
- Nevada
- Utah
- Oregon
- Montana
- California
- Hawaii
This doesn’t directly line up with where people are flocking to (end-of-year data for 2022 showed that people were heading to Florida and Texas as others fled from California, New York and Illinois). It will be interesting to gauge any shift of popularity in the cheaper states with the cheapest houses. Will rankings change as people head toward cheaper, ultimately driving up prices?
Staff Writer, Taylor Leddin is a publicist and freelance writer for a number of national outlets. She was featured on Thrive Global as a successful woman in journalism, and is the editor-in-chief of The Tidbit. Taylor resides in Chicago and has a Bachelor in Communication Studies from Illinois State University.
