The average price of a home in the USA is now $500,000. That’s right; the average US house hunter needs to raise half a million bucks to get on the property ladder. So much for the American Dream.
But there are cheaper options out there. And this latest study from American Home Shield can show you where.
Using information collected from the US Census database, it created several maps and charts showing the most (and least) affordable zip codes in the USA.
Here’s a look at the results.
The most and least affordable zip codes in the USA
Flint, Michigan, is the USA’s most affordable zip code. You can pick up a property in zip code 48505 for around $27,703, which is a few thousand dollars less than the average salary for local workers.
Beverly Hills 90210 is the most expensive zip code in the United States. With mansions changing hands for tens of millions of dollars, house buyers need to earn over 30 times more than the average local household income to get on this exclusive property ladder.
Most affordable zip code in every state
Next up, the study looked at the most affordable zip code in every state. Some of the most affordable places to buy property include Peoria, Illinois; Ogdensburg, New York; and Muncie, Indiana.
Least affordable zip code in every state
Unsurprisingly, New York City had the least affordable zip code in the great state of New York. The Big Apple is home to some of the world’s priciest real estate; residents need to bank 31 times the average New Yorker’s salary to even think about becoming a property owner.
Most and least affordable zip codes in New York
The most expensive zip codes in the city that never sleeps are in the Lower East Side, Tribeca, and Soho. And the recent gentrification of the Bronx has driven property up values in Mott Haven.
Those looking for affordable property in NYC should search Queens and Staten Island. Still, they’ll need to earn 3 times the average local salary to buy a house in either borough.
Property prices in LA zip codes
Zip code 90007 contains LA’s most expensive neighborhoods. A house here costs 27 times more than the local household income.
The most affordable properties in LA are over in the West Hills, Mission Hills, and Sunland. But when it comes to house prices, ‘affordable’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘affordable.’ Property buyers looking to live in these ‘affordable’ zip codes still need to make 10 times more than the average LA salary.
Lower house prices in Chicago zip codes
Chicago turns out to be one of the most affordable cities to live in. Property in its most affordable zip code, West Loop, is priced at 2.3 times the average local salary.
And the city’s most expensive zip code, Logan Square, has homes that ‘only’ cost 5 times the average household income. More proof that affordable is a relative term in property lingo.
High demand in Houston
Houston is one of the hottest places in the US property market right now. Hedwig Village, Piney Point, has seen the most of the demand, which means this zip code property values are now nearly 9 times the average salary in Houston.
House search in Philly
Philadelphia is another one of the USA’s more affordable places to live when looking at prices per zip code. Houses in Fairhill are on the market for around $80,000; that’s 2.5 times the average salary in the city of brotherly love.
