Methodology

To determine the least expensive cities to buy a home in the nation, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed five-year estimates of median owner-occupied home values from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey. Cities are ranked by median home value, and in the case of a tie, cities where a larger share of homes are worth less than $10,000 ranked higher. 

We considered places in the 50 states and the District of Columbia with populations of at least 25,000. Cities were excluded if owner-occupied median home values were not available in the 2020 ACS or if the sampling error associated with a town’s data was deemed too high.

Additional information on the share of homes worth less than $10,000, the share of owner-occupied housing units that have a mortgage, rates of homeownership, and median annual household income are also five-year estimates from the 2020 ACS.