First Time Homebuyers, Take Note: This List Shows the Best Cities to Buy

After taking a tough tumble in 2020 due to the global pandemic, the housing market has seen a solid recovery this year. But that is bad news for people looking to buy their first home, as the median home price for a home in August 2021 jumped nearly 15% to $356,700 compared to the same time last year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Despite the seller-friendly market, there are still plenty of places in the U.S. where you can find a quality home at an affordable price. Where? Well, Forbes Advisor compiled a list of the most affordable cities for first-time homebuyers.

To discover the best cities, Forbes Advisor looked at cities where the average wage is enough to afford a median-priced, single-family home. So if you’re looking to maybe make a move to say Georgia or Michigan — two states that are absolutely represented on this list — there are some great locales to consider if you’re looking for affordability of homes at millennial-level wages. And remember, no matter what you do, home buying is still pretty tough right now.

The 10 Most Affordable Places for Average-wage Earners

1. Macon, Georgia

-Median sales price of single-family home: $104,750 -Average annualized weekly wages: $47,918

1. Peoria, Illinois

-Median sales price of single-family home: $124,950 -Average annualized weekly wages: $64,272

1. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

-Median sales price of single-family home: $155,000 -Average annualized weekly wages: $67,756

1. Augusta, Georgia

-Median sales price of single-family home: $132,000 -Average annualized weekly wages: $51,207

1. Charleston, West Virginia

-Median sales price of single-family home: $138,500 -Average annualized weekly wages: $51,883

1. St. Louis, Missouri

-Median sales price of single-family home: $175,000 -Average annualized weekly wages: $67,470

1. Saginaw, Michigan

-Median sales price of single-family home: $125,500 -Average annualized weekly wages: $50,804

1. Montgomery, Alabama

-Median sales price of single-family home: $151,770 -Average annualized weekly wages: $51,467

1. Lake Charles, Louisiana

-Median sales price of single-family home: $173,000 -Average annualized weekly wages: $55,081

1. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia

-Median sales price of single-family home: $180,000 -Average annualized weekly wages: $60,333

Forbes Advisor also compiled two other lists, based around the most affordable cities for people who work-from-home (turns out Ohio is fantastic for remote workers) and the most affordable cities for people who are looking to buy a condo instead of a home. You can see both lists here.