The 25 cheapest cities to buy a home in 2026
The cheapest active U.S. housing market in 2026 is Detroit, MI, where the typical home is worth $77,199 — about 81% below the national median sale price of $410,700. Below are two rankings of the same eligible cities: one on Zillow's current home values, one on Redfin's archived sale prices. Every figure carries its source and period.
Key findings
- Detroit, MI has the lowest typical home value of any active U.S. market at $77,199 — roughly 81% below the national median sale price of $410,700. Zillow · Aug 2026
- Detroit, MI led the sale-price ranking at $95,000 in the final Redfin snapshot. Redfin · May 2026
- 19 cities appear in both rankings — two independent series, built from different inputs, agreeing on the same markets. That overlap is the most durable part of this study.
- 23 of the 25 cheapest markets by sale price are in the Midwest and South, where older housing stock and lower land and construction costs hold prices down.
- At 7.03% with 20% down, the typical home in Detroit carries an estimated $412/month in principal & interest — versus about $2,193/month on the national median home. FRED · Sep 2026
Ranking 1 — cheapest by median sale price
This is the original ranking: what buyers actually paid for the median home, from Redfin's public market trackers. These figures are archived and will not update. Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026. We keep the ranking because it is the only series in our stack that reports the transaction side of the market — days on market, months of supply, and what closed — and a dated archive is more useful than a deletion.
| # | City | Median sale price | vs. U.S. | 1-yr change | Days on mkt | Recent sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit, MI | $95,000 | −77% | -0.8% | 54 | 407 |
| 2 | Lansing, MI | $147,500 | −64% | +7.7% | 35 | 135 |
| 3 | Cleveland, OH | $150,000 | −63% | +7.1% | 34 | 403 |
| 4 | Dayton, OH | $150,000 | −63% | +11.1% | 46 | 129 |
| 5 | Toledo, OH | $150,000 | −63% | +20.0% | 40 | 260 |
| 6 | Akron, OH | $151,000 | −63% | +0.7% | 23 | 196 |
| 7 | Jackson, MS | $160,000 | −61% | +0.5% | 25 | 113 |
| 8 | Rockford, IL | $170,000 | −59% | +6.3% | 14 | 141 |
| 9 | Peoria, IL | $173,700 | −58% | +5.3% | 15 | 151 |
| 10 | Davenport, IA | $178,500 | −57% | -8.8% | 15 | 128 |
| 11 | Evansville, IN | $183,500 | −55% | +11.2% | 9 | 167 |
| 12 | Topeka, KS | $189,900 | −54% | +2.7% | 8 | 157 |
| 13 | South Bend, IN | $190,000 | −54% | +5.6% | 22 | 121 |
| 14 | Rochester, NY | $191,000 | −53% | +12.3% | 10 | 123 |
| 15 | Springfield, IL | $195,000 | −53% | +4.5% | 5 | 133 |
| 16 | Cedar Rapids, IA | $198,750 | −52% | -7.6% | 15 | 197 |
| 17 | Shreveport, LA | $205,000 | −50% | +3.5% | 52 | 199 |
| 18 | Macon, GA | $215,000 | −48% | +2.4% | 61 | 169 |
| 19 | Memphis, TN | $215,000 | −48% | +9.1% | 40 | 449 |
| 20 | Buffalo, NY | $216,000 | −47% | +8.7% | 21 | 129 |
| 21 | Springfield, MO | $217,900 | −47% | +3.8% | 12 | 231 |
| 22 | Augusta-Richmond County, GA | $219,500 | −47% | +1.4% | 51 | 158 |
| 23 | Des Moines, IA | $220,000 | −46% | +1.7% | 26 | 276 |
| 24 | Montgomery, AL | $225,000 | −45% | +0.4% | 64 | 214 |
| 25 | Warren, MI | $225,000 | −45% | +20.6% | 18 | 156 |
Every value in this table is Redfin, through May 2026. “vs. U.S.” compares each city's median sale price to the national median of $410,700 (U.S. Census Bureau MSPUS, via FRED). “1-yr change” is the year-over-year move as of that final period, not as of today. City names link to a full market profile with current Zillow values, schools, and demographics.
Ranking 2 — cheapest by typical home value, updated monthly
Same eligibility pool, current data. The Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) estimates what the typical home in a market is worth across the entire housing stock — not just the homes that happened to sell — so it does not swing when an unusual mix of properties trades in one month. Alongside it, the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) gives the typical asking rent, and the two together produce a gross rent yield: annual rent divided by home value, before taxes, insurance, vacancy, or maintenance.
| # | City | Typical value | Typical rent | Gross yield | Est. P&I | Sale price (arch.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit, MI | $77,199 | $1,341 | 20.8% | $412 | $95,000 |
| 2 | Jackson, MS | $86,367 | $1,265 | 17.6% | $461 | $160,000 |
| 3 | Cleveland, OH | $120,419 | $1,391 | 13.9% | $643 | $150,000 |
| 4 | Toledo, OH | $133,536 | $1,128 | 10.1% | $713 | $150,000 |
| 5 | Birmingham, AL | $136,876 | $1,322 | 11.6% | $731 | $227,000 |
| 6 | Peoria, IL | $138,052 | $1,266 | 11.0% | $737 | $173,700 |
| 7 | Dayton, OH | $140,625 | $1,251 | 10.7% | $751 | $150,000 |
| 8 | Akron, OH | $141,681 | $1,167 | 9.9% | $756 | $151,000 |
| 9 | Memphis, TN | $145,335 | $1,232 | 10.2% | $776 | $215,000 |
| 10 | Shreveport, LA | $148,292 | $1,184 | 9.6% | $792 | $205,000 |
| 11 | Montgomery, AL | $152,837 | $1,338 | 10.5% | $816 | $225,000 |
| 12 | Lansing, MI | $169,388 | $1,222 | 8.7% | $904 | $147,500 |
| 13 | Springfield, IL | $172,189 | $1,159 | 8.1% | $919 | $195,000 |
| 14 | Macon, GA | $174,105 | $1,246 | 8.6% | $929 | $215,000 |
| 15 | Wichita Falls, TX | $176,929 | $1,362 | 9.2% | $945 | $225,000 |
| 16 | Baltimore, MD | $186,741 | $1,802 | 11.6% | $997 | $255,000 |
| 17 | Rockford, IL | $186,897 | $1,195 | 7.7% | $998 | $170,000 |
| 18 | Davenport, IA | $196,283 | $971 | 5.9% | $1,048 | $178,500 |
| 19 | Waco, TX | $197,932 | $1,363 | 8.3% | $1,057 | $255,000 |
| 20 | Topeka, KS | $198,041 | $1,285 | 7.8% | $1,057 | $189,900 |
| 21 | Mobile, AL | $198,189 | $1,280 | 7.8% | $1,058 | $237,750 |
| 22 | Warren, MI | $200,537 | $1,366 | 8.2% | $1,071 | $225,000 |
| 23 | South Bend, IN | $201,639 | $1,298 | 7.7% | $1,076 | $190,000 |
| 24 | Evansville, IN | $204,516 | $1,076 | 6.3% | $1,092 | $183,500 |
| 25 | Kansas City, KS | $204,669 | $1,326 | 7.8% | $1,093 | $250,000 |
Typical value and typical rent are Zillow, August 2026, refreshed monthly. “Gross yield” is twelve months of typical rent divided by typical value — a first-pass screen, not a return: it excludes property tax, insurance, vacancy, management, and maintenance. “Est. P&I” is principal and interest only on the typical value at 7.03% with 20% down, the Freddie Mac 30-year average for the week of September 24, 2026. “Sale price (arch.)” is the same city's Redfin figure through May 2026, shown for comparison only.
The two tables mostly agree, and where they diverge the reason is usually mix. A city can post a higher median sale price than its typical home value when the homes that traded skewed larger or newer than the local stock — which is exactly the distortion ZHVI is designed to remove. The 19 cities that land in both top 25s — Detroit, Jackson, Cleveland, Toledo, Peoria, Dayton, and others — are affordable on both measures at once, which is a stronger claim than either table makes alone.
Thinking about buying in one of these markets?
Tell us which city and when. We send the current price and rent range, how long homes are taking to sell there, the payment at this week's rate, and what to fix on your credit before you apply.
Where the cheapest markets are
Affordability isn't evenly spread across the country — it clusters. Of the 25 cheapest cities by sale price, 17 are in the Midwest, 6 are in the South, and 2 are in the Northeast. The pattern holds on the Zillow ranking too, and it is consistent year over year: legacy industrial and rural markets with abundant older housing stock, more available land, and slower price growth stay well below the coasts.
This is a statement about housing supply, land cost, and regional economics — not about the people who live in these cities. A low typical home value tells you what it costs to buy there. It tells you nothing about who your neighbours will be, and we do not publish rankings that imply otherwise.
Explore any of these markets in depth on our Michigan, Ohio, Alabama, and Illinois housing hubs, or line two of them up in the comparison tool.
What actually makes a city affordable
A low price is the output of a handful of forces working together. When you're comparing markets, these are the drivers worth understanding:
- Housing supply and age. Cities with large inventories of older homes and available land face less price pressure than land-constrained coastal metros.
- Population and job trends. Slower-growing or shrinking cities see softer demand — which keeps prices low but is also a signal to check the local economy before buying.
- Construction and land costs. Where it's cheaper to build, existing homes compete against lower replacement costs.
- Incomes and taxes. Local wages set what buyers can pay; property-tax rates vary widely and change the true monthly cost of ownership.
- Rent relative to price. A market where rents hold up while values stay low produces a higher gross yield — the reason several of these cities show up in investor screens rather than relocation searches.
Price is where affordability starts, not where it ends. To judge whether a cheap market is worth buying into, weigh days on market and months of supply (buyer vs. seller leverage), year-over-year price change (momentum), and the rent-to-price ratio. Our market comparison tool lines these metrics up side by side, our affordability calculator converts a salary into a price range at the current rate, and our methodology explains how we classify buyer- vs. seller-favouring markets.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest city to buy a home in 2026?
Detroit, MI has the lowest typical home value of any active U.S. market in 2026, at $77,199 on Zillow's Home Value Index for August 2026 — roughly 81% below the U.S. median sale price of $410,700. The archived Redfin sale-price ranking, which ends at May 2026, puts Detroit, MI first at $95,000. Both rankings count only cities with at least 100 recent recorded sales.
Why does this page show two different rankings?
Because the two sources that answer this question no longer run on the same clock. Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026. Zillow's Home Value Index still refreshes every month and is current through August 2026. Rather than drop the archived Redfin ranking or present it as current, we publish both: the Redfin ranking as it stands at its final period, and a Zillow ZHVI ranking over the same eligible cities that still moves. They measure slightly different things — Redfin reports what sold, Zillow estimates what the typical home is worth — so where they agree, the finding is unusually well supported.
Why are the cheapest cities concentrated in the Midwest and South?
Of the 25 most affordable markets, 23 sit in the Midwest or South. These regions combine older, abundant housing stock, slower population growth in legacy industrial cities, more available land, and lower construction and land costs than the coasts — which keeps both sale prices and typical home values well below the national figure.
Are cheap housing markets a good investment?
A low purchase price alone doesn't make a market a good investment. What matters is the full picture: gross rent yield (annual rent divided by home value), job and population trends, days on market, months of supply, and property taxes. In Detroit, for example, the typical asking rent works out to a gross yield of about 20.8% against the typical home value before taxes, insurance, vacancy, or maintenance — a starting point for the math, not the answer to it. Some affordable cities are declining; others are stable, cash-flow-friendly markets. Evaluate each one on its own data rather than on price alone.
How much does the mortgage payment differ in a cheap city?
At the current 30-year fixed rate of 7.03% (Freddie Mac, week of September 24, 2026) with 20% down, the estimated principal-and-interest payment on the median home in Detroit is roughly $507/month, versus about $2,193/month on the national median home. The payment gap is proportionally the same as the price gap, but the dollar gap compounds: over a 30-year term the difference runs into the hundreds of thousands. Taxes, insurance, and HOA dues are additional and vary widely by location.
How current is this data?
Numbers on this page come from more than one provider and those providers are no longer on the same clock: Zillow's indices still refresh every month and are current through August 2026, while redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026. The national median sale price is the U.S. Census Bureau's quarterly MSPUS series and the mortgage rate is Freddie Mac's weekly 30-year average, currently 7.03% for the week of September 24, 2026 — both retrieved through FRED. Each number on this page carries its own source and period stamp.
Does a low median price mean the homes are in bad condition?
Not necessarily. A low median sale price or typical home value usually reflects the region's overall cost structure — land, labour, and demand — more than the condition of any individual home. Many affordable markets have sound, move-in-ready housing; always verify a specific property with an inspection and a licensed local agent.
How do you decide which cities count?
A city has to have at least 100 recent recorded home sales to be eligible, so the ranking reflects real, liquid markets rather than statistical noise from a handful of transactions. That eligibility rule is applied first and produces a pool of active markets; both the Redfin ranking and the Zillow ranking are then computed over that same pool. Full detail is in the method section on this page and on our methodology and data-sources pages.
Keep exploring
How we built this ranking
One eligibility rule, two rankings. A city is eligible if it has at least 100 recent recorded home sales, so the list reflects active markets rather than statistical noise from a handful of transactions. That rule is applied first, before any ranking, and produces the candidate pool. We then rank that pool twice: once by Zillow Home Value Index (current, refreshed monthly) and once by Redfin median sale price (archived at May 2026).
- Zillow ZHVI & ZORI — typical home value and typical asking rent, August 2026. Refreshes monthly.
- Redfin market trackers — median sale price, days on market, months of supply, homes sold, year-over-year change. Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau (MSPUS via FRED) — the national median sale price used in the “vs. U.S.” column, currently $410,700. Quarterly.
- Freddie Mac PMMS (via FRED) — the 30-year fixed rate used in every payment estimate, 7.03% for the week of September 24, 2026. Weekly.
- Gaps stay gaps. Where a city has no value for a metric, the cell reads “—”. We do not interpolate, borrow a neighbouring market's figure, or infer one from a trend.
For how we classify whether a market favours buyers or sellers, see our methodology; for full source detail, our data sources page; and for the citation format, how to cite this research.
Mortgage payment estimates are principal & interest only, assuming 20% down at the current 30-year fixed rate; taxes, insurance, and HOA dues are additional. Gross rent yield excludes all operating costs. Not investment, financial, or real estate advice — confirm current local figures with a licensed professional before making a decision.
Get the full brief on the market you're targeting
Pick a city and a timeline. We send the current value and rent, the payment at this week's rate, how the market is trending, and the credit work that changes your rate before you apply.