The Midwest and South are home to a majority of the country’s most affordable cities.
A typical household in Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO, a St. Louis suburb, would need to spend just 16% of their income on housing every month—the lowest share in the nation and less than half the national average. Ferguson, MO (17.6%), Detroit, MI (17.9%), Broussard, LA (18.4%) and Bayou Cane, LA (18.6%) round out the top five.
Nationwide, the typical homeowner has to spend 39% of their income on housing, which is well above the recommended 30% threshold.
This is according to a Redfin analysis of median incomes and median home sale prices across nearly every U.S. city, using weighted averages from January-November 2025.
We’re highlighting the most affordable cities in the nation because housing costs are near record highs, sidelining many would-be buyers. With buyers priced out, homes are harder to sell, prompting would-be sellers to hold off and contributing to an unusually slow yet still expensive buyer’s market.
This is a sharp contrast from the pandemic homebuying boom, when homes sold like hot cakes as buyers took advantage of historically low mortgage rates and remote work. The frenzy depleted housing stock, though, and buyers began backing off as prices and mortgage rates climbed at record rates. Now, buyers and sellers are dealing with the aftermath.
“Affordability is top of mind for many people today, as rising costs have left younger generations feeling like homeownership is just a pipe dream,” said Asad Khan, a senior economist at Redfin. “But believe it or not, there are still plenty of areas—mostly in the Rust Belt and the South—where buying a home is financially comfortable.”
Costs are lowest in the Midwest and South
A majority of the most affordable cities are located in the Midwest and Southern U.S., with a large share in the Rust Belt. Housing in these regions tends to be quite old, especially in places like Detroit, which can keep prices low. Every city in the top 50 has a median sale price near or below $300,000.
Housing costs are low in Bellefontaine Neighbors, and North St. Louis in general, largely because of decades of economic disinvestment and discriminatory housing policies, epitomized by the Delmar Divide. Residents north of the divide generally make less money and have fewer opportunities than those in the south.
This pattern isn’t unique to St. Louis. In many of the nation’s most affordable cities, homeownership may look attainable for local households on paper, but the reality is often more complicated. Many cities have poverty rates far above the national average and house a disproportionate share of underserved groups. So, even though the typical household can afford their monthly payments, not everyone can.
It’s also worth noting that lower-income areas tend to have fewer job opportunities, especially well-paying ones, which contributes to the same cycle of disinvestment that keeps prices low.
Austin, TX—a pandemic boomtown—is among the nation’s most affordable cities
A notable addition to the list is Austin, TX, where the housing market has dramatically slowed since it peaked as the nation’s hottest in 2021.
Many people who moved to the region for its sunshine and affordability during the pandemic have since moved away, creating a surplus of inventory and helping prices drop from their peak. A significant share of people were able to move because they worked remotely, but left when return-to-office mandates pulled them elsewhere.
Affordability should improve in 2026
Redfin predicts that affordability will slowly improve in 2026 and beyond, as wages climb faster than housing costs for a sustained period for the first time since the Great Recession.
“Rising wages and declining costs may bring some life back to the market in 2026, but until homebuilding catches up to years of unmet demand, affordability will remain a challenge,” Khan said. “The best way to make homebuying affordable—especially for younger generations—is to make homebuilding easier and provide financial and social support to populations in need.”
Methodology
Redfin analyzed 1,751 cities across the United States and ranked them from most to least affordable based on their payment to income ratio—the share of income a typical household would need to spend on housing every month, assuming the local median household income and median home sale price. The lower the share, the more affordable the city.
We applied varying population thresholds in order to provide a more equal comparison between states, ranging from a 2,500 minimum in states like Vermont to 50,000 in California. We also set a minimum price per square foot value to rule out areas with an outsized share of dilapidated housing.
All data represents a weighted average from January-November 2025.
