House prices are always a hot topic — a house is the biggest purchase most people will ever make, the most important asset they will ever own, and of course the place where they will live and perhaps raise a family. Houses have traditionally been seen as a good investment. They are expected to appreciate in value and, as they say, the population is getting bigger but the country isn’t. House prices have often risen faster than inflation and even faster than wages, which may be good for owners but bad for first-time buyers.
24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of the 50 most affordable housing markets in the Northeast. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development defines an “affordable dwelling” as one that costs a household 30% or less of its income. Of course, incomes and house prices vary from state to state and from locale to locale — they’re generally higher in big cities and lower in rural areas. (These are the cities where the middle class can no longer afford housing.)
Our list is dominated by housing markets in Pennsylvania, which claims the top 12. To paraphrase a famous quote, Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with a lot of affordable housing in between.Â
The No. 1 most affordable market is Shamokin, Pennsylvania. It was once a prosperous place thanks to abundant coal resources, which attracted various industries and railroads but has become economically depressed as coal has fallen from favor. In second and third place, Johnstown and Duquesne, also in Pennsylvania, were once booming steel towns. Duquesne once had the world’s largest blast furnace, but both towns were hit hard by deindustrialization and the decline of the steel industry. (These are the poorest places in the Northeast.)
Click here to see the most affordable places to buy a house in the Northeast
To identify the most affordable housing markets in the Northeast, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey five-year estimates, ranking only the 1,116 census-designated places, cities, and towns with at least 5,000 residents in the Northeast. (All data came from the ACS except percent of population change, which we calculated using ACS data.)
50. Ilion, New York
> Median home value: $81,900
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 65.4% — 54th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $54,397 — 820th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -3.1% — 951st highest in the Northeast
> Population: 7,812 — 757th highest in the Northeast
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Source: By Lvklock - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4873408
49. Southport, New York
> Median home value: $81,500
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 74.9% — 29th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $49,645 — 889th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -0.4% — 583rd highest in the Northeast
> Population: 6,972 — 837th highest in the Northeast
48. Sunbury, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $81,300
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 69.9% — 39th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $34,644 — 1,077th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -2.8% — 912th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 9,480 — 610th highest in the Northeast
47. Warren, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $81,300
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 67.0% — 51st highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $42,939 — 982nd highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -3.0% — 932nd highest in the Northeast
> Population: 9,191 — 621st highest in the Northeast
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Source: ChrisBoswell / iStock via Getty Images
46. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $80,800
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 60.0% — 66th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $39,685 — 1,034th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -<0.01% — 497th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 49,209 — 94th highest in the Northeast
Source: dougtone / Flickr
45. Fulton, New York
> Median home value: $80,700
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 71.9% — 36th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $45,639 — 943rd highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -3.5% — 982nd highest in the Northeast
> Population: 11,300 — 517th highest in the Northeast
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Source: By Vasiliymeshko - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16620478
44. Nanticoke, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $80,300
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 69.5% — 43rd highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $42,735 — 984th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -0.5% — 599th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 10,304 — 562nd highest in the Northeast
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Source: J. Michael Jones / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
43. Olean, New York
> Median home value: $80,200
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 69.0% — 46th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $41,742 — 1,005th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -3.0% — 935th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 13,670 — 425th highest in the Northeast
Source: Jupiterimages / Stockbyte via Getty Images
42. Darby, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $78,700
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 71.5% — 37th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $49,292 — 892nd highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: +<0.01% — 482nd highest in the Northeast
> Population: 10,695 — 548th highest in the Northeast
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Source: By Kenneth C. Zirkel - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70007569
41. Herkimer, New York
> Median home value: $78,000
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 64.9% — 57th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $44,870 — 958th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -14.4% — 1,114th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 6,615 — 884th highest in the Northeast
Source: Orchidpoet / E+ via Getty Images
40. Niagara Falls, New York
> Median home value: $77,400
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 73.9% — 31st highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $36,346 — 1,066th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -2.4% — 866th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 48,252 — 95th highest in the Northeast
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39. Sugarcreek, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $76,700
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 72.4% — 34th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $42,315 — 993rd highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -3.6% — 985th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 5,014 — 1,114th highest in the Northeast
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38. Massena, New York
> Median home value: $76,400
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 75.4% — 25th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $44,626 — 959th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -9.0% — 1,093rd highest in the Northeast
> Population: 10,091 — 577th highest in the Northeast
37. Medina, New York
> Median home value: $76,300
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 76.7% — 24th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $43,779 — 975th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -1.5% — 759th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 5,847 — 982nd highest in the Northeast
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Source: By Canadian2006 - Own workby uploader, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4728366
36. Monessen, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $76,300
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 69.8% — 40th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $43,823 — 970th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -3.2% — 954th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 7,344 — 797th highest in the Northeast
35. Gloversville, New York
> Median home value: $76,100
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 70.0% — 38th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $38,896 — 1,044th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -2.7% — 897th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 14,878 — 388th highest in the Northeast
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Source: traveler1116 / iStock via Getty Images
34. York, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $75,900
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 73.7% — 32nd highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $33,906 — 1,085th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: +0.4% — 417th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 44,022 — 106th highest in the Northeast
Source: By Nyttend - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36738702
33. Aliquippa, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $75,800
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 69.3% — 44th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $31,985 — 1,096th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -3.1% — 948th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 9,004 — 635th highest in the Northeast
32. Albion, New York
> Median home value: $75,400
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 67.6% — 50th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $39,590 — 1,035th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -2.7% — 895th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 5,479 — 1,047th highest in the Northeast
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Source: DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images
31. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $75,100
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 69.6% — 42nd highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $37,902 — 1,050th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -0.6% — 615th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 40,867 — 123rd highest in the Northeast
Source: By Smallbones - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49080630
30. Lewistown, Pennsylvania
> Median home value: $74,600
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 75.1% — 27th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $35,573 — 1,069th highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -1.6% — 776th highest in the Northeast
> Population: 8,194 — 716th highest in the Northeast
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Source: DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images
29. Elmira, New York
> Median home value: $74,500
> Homes worth less than $100,000: 85.0% — 11th highest in the Northeast
> Median household income: $36,909 — 1,063rd highest in the Northeast
> 5-year pop. change: -4.9% — 1,043rd highest in the Northeast
> Population: 27,402 — 201st highest in the Northeast
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