45 Great Cities With Shockingly Cheap Real Estate

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There aren’t many silver linings to the coronavirus epidemic, but the low price of real estate in some cities may be one of them. While prices in some areas have risen in 2020, there are still plenty of extremely affordable cities in America that also have high quality-of-life rankings.

To help narrow down the choices, GOBankingRates looked at the 300 largest cities listed on real estate site Zillow and screened out those with prices of more than 75{2bcf6c72702b5c79c6d60e2b201b92505312452d06f0e1ed088ab13b8bc14c0a} of the national typical market value as of July 2020. Consumer Expenditure Survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Livability scores from AreaVibes were also incorporated to rank cities in reverse order of preference, with the top city listed last.

What’s clear from the rankings is that there are plenty of cheap cities in the American South and Midwest, with Texas alone occupying 14 of the top 45 slots. Ohio and Indiana also make impressive showings, but if you’re looking further west, you’re out of luck, as no cities west of Oklahoma appear in the rankings. While the affordable-yet-desirable cities on this list may be attractive to anyone, they may hold particular appeal for those living on a fixed income.

Last updated: Sept. 9, 2020

45. Pittsburgh

Average home value: $183,002
Livability score: 73
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,915

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44. Memphis, Tennessee

Average home value: $100,126
Livability score: 61
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,353

43. Pensacola, Florida

Average home value: $163,749
Livability score: 70
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,549

42. Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Average home value: $162,797
Livability score: 67
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,668

41. Montgomery, Alabama

Average home value: $96,198
Livability score: 61
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,238

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40. Tulsa, Oklahoma

Average home value: $138,046
Livability score: 68
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,692

39. Lafayette, Louisiana

Average home value: $179,084
Livability score: 72
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,256

38. Louisville, Kentucky

Average home value: $188,495
Livability score: 74
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,234

37. Evansville, Indiana

Average home value: $137,014
Livability score: 63
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,872

36. Indianapolis

Average home value: $161,717
Livability score: 68
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,328

35. Jackson, Mississippi

Average home value: $40,024
Livability score: 55
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,972

34. Laredo, Texas

Average home value: $159,321
Livability score: 71
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,129

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33. Roanoke, Virginia

Average home value: $176,973
Livability score: 74
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,098

32. Hampton, Virginia

Average home value: $187,258
Livability score: 76
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,205

31. Macon, Georgia

Average home value: $94,612
Livability score: 63
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,829

30. Pasadena, Texas

Average home value: $167,992
Livability score: 78
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $19,446

29. Joliet, Illinois

Average home value: $154,129
Livability score: 73
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,482

28. South Bend, Indiana

Average home value: $117,642
Livability score: 60
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $15,985

27. Columbus, Ohio

Average home value: $188,697
Livability score: 76
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,000

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26. Oklahoma City

Average home value: $148,689
Livability score: 76
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $19,454

25. Birmingham, Alabama

Average home value: $65,091
Livability score: 62
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,343

24. Lansing, Michigan

Average home value: $102,572
Livability score: 65
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,576

23. Corpus Christi, Texas

Average home value: $165,405
Livability score: 74
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,843

22. Dayton, Ohio

Average home value: $66,103
Livability score: 60
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,357

21. Hamilton, Ohio

Average home value: $188,140
Livability score: 76
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,489

20. Tyler, Texas

Average home value: $165,958
Livability score: 74
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,608

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19. Shreveport, Louisiana

Average home value: $108,460
Livability score: 67
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,472

18. Cleveland

Average home value: $71,425
Livability score: 62
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,276

17. Beaumont, Texas

Average home value: $122,427
Livability score: 69
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,383

16. Toledo, Ohio

Average home value: $81,727
Livability score: 63
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,088

15. Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Average home value: $157,643
Livability score: 77
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,180

14. Lakeland, Florida

Average home value: $186,265
Livability score: 81
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $18,200

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13. Lubbock, Texas

Average home value: $154,230
Livability score: 74
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,314

12. Waco, Texas

Average home value: $147,850
Livability score: 72
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,777

11. Canton, Ohio

Average home value: $112,904
Livability score: 67
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,554

10. Des Moines, Iowa

Average home value: $152,873
Livability score: 78
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,935

9. Abilene, Texas

Average home value: $142,954
Livability score: 76
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,488

8. Akron, Ohio

Average home value: $76,255
Livability score: 65
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,641

7. Killeen, Texas

Average home value: $140,606
Livability score: 77
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,538

6. El Paso, Texas

Average home value: $141,911
Livability score: 78
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,592

5. Edinburg, Texas

Average home value: $138,945
Livability score: 79
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,266

4. McAllen, Texas

Average home value: $150,699
Livability score: 83
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,711

3. Amarillo, Texas

Average home value: $139,134
Livability score: 81
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $17,367

2. Brownsville, Texas

Average home value: $107,870
Livability score: 76
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,957

1. Fort Wayne, Indiana

Average home value: $152,531
Livability score: 80
Annual cost of living (excluding housing): $16,375

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Methodology: In order to find 45 great cities with shockingly cheap real estate, GOBankingRates looked at the 300 largest cities in the U.S. for which Zillow publishes monthly data on single-family home values. Out of these 300 cities, GOBankingRates identified the 81 which had (1) a typical market value for single-family residences less than 75{2bcf6c72702b5c79c6d60e2b201b92505312452d06f0e1ed088ab13b8bc14c0a} of the national typical market value in July 2020. Then, GOBankingRates found each city’s (2) livability score from AreaVibes, which scores cities on criteria like crime rate, employment, school quality, user review ratings and more. Finally, GOBankingRates used July 2018-June 2019 Consumer Expenditure Survey data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and cost of living index scores from Sperling’s Best Places to calculate (3) the total dollar amount residents of each city can expect to spend annually on necessities other than housing (including groceries, utilities, transportation and healthcare). GOBankingRates then scored each qualifying city on factors (1-3) and ranked them against each other, with factor (2) weighted twice as heavily as factors (1) and (3). The final ranking highlights the highest-scoring cities, with no. 1 being the best overall. All data was collected on and up to date as of Aug. 25, 2020.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 45 Great Cities With Shockingly Cheap Real Estate