Homeownership was once a cornerstone of the American dream. But for a growing share of the population, it is now more akin to a pipe dream. Within the last two years, real incomes have been crushed under the weight of historic inflation. At the same time, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes have sent mortgage rates soaring.
With reduced buying power and increased borrowing costs, consumer interest in the real estate market has cooled. The number of existing home sales in the U.S. declined by 23% from April 2022 to April 2023, according to the National Association of Realtors. But while demand from home buyers has fallen, home prices have not. (These are the states with the worst housing shortages for low income Americans.)
According to the real estate market website Realtor.com, the median list price for a home in the United States was $441,445 in May 2023 – 2.7% higher than it was a year earlier. But while such prices are prohibitively high for most Americans, there are parts of the country where homes are selling for far less and where homeownership is still possible for those on a modest budget.
Of the 57 counties in California with available data from Realtor.com and at least 10 homes actively listed, Alpine County has the least expensive housing market. As of May 2023, the median list price in the area was $41,175, compared to the statewide median list price of $774,500.
All data in this story is from Realtor.com.
StateCounty or county equivalent with cheapest housing marketMedian list price in county/county equivalent ($)Median list price in state ($)Counties/county equivalents consideredAlabamaDallas70,500336,75063AlaskaHoonah-Angoon219,975415,40012ArizonaGraham323,500500,00014ArkansasJackson79,425291,07566CaliforniaAlpine41,175774,50057ColoradoCrowley164,900649,45057ConnecticutHartford386,950579,9008DelawareKent417,225499,9973FloridaHamilton232,000475,00066GeorgiaTerrell96,175400,000131HawaiiHawaii617,944850,0004IdahoButte256,250589,50043IllinoisGreene51,350321,15085IndianaSullivan88,700306,47589IowaPage112,500319,95091KansasCloud69,425321,63263KentuckyLetcher103,000307,364105LouisianaEvangeline113,875289,95060MaineAroostook189,000439,47516MarylandAllegany122,350426,78024MassachusettsHampden344,175799,00014MichiganIron115,600292,45082MinnesotaFaribault119,725409,95082MississippiHumphreys79,000284,00068MissouriKnox62,363301,350105MontanaPhillips160,375675,00039NebraskaFurnas134,900372,51343NevadaMineral180,000469,75014New HampshireCoos261,975549,95010New JerseyCumberland254,975544,50021New MexicoCibola156,875382,47528New YorkLivingston124,900654,47562North CarolinaNorthampton134,950425,00099North DakotaPierce139,500349,35023OhioJefferson99,850257,50087OklahomaWoods85,125319,95066OregonHarney295,000579,92533PennsylvaniaCambria85,500299,00066Rhode IslandProvidence409,900537,0005South CarolinaMarlboro143,440360,99545South DakotaPerkins98,000372,37527TennesseeLake112,400449,99595TexasHall86,499389,950210UtahEmery305,000629,90026VermontEssex235,950454,50014VirginiaBuchanan64,725456,062122WashingtonAdams378,725650,00037West VirginiaMcdowell59,175239,49547WisconsinFlorence194,925375,00070WyomingWashakie218,750477,50022
