Blog » USA Property » Where Normal Americans Can Afford to Buy a Home in 2025

Where Normal Americans Can Afford to Buy a Home in 2025

David Garner

Published On: June 3rd, 2025

FREE DOWNLOAD: 10 Costly Mistakes Foreigners Make Buying U.S. Real Estate

🏡 Where “Normal Americans” Can Still Afford to Buy a Home in 2025

These Cities Are Still Affordable in an Overheated National Property Market

In today’s housing market, many Americans feel like homeownership is slipping out of reach. With home prices soaring and mortgage rates doubling over the past few years, it’s no surprise that the dream of owning a home feels more like a fantasy for the average family.

📉 “Property prices have risen so fast in a lot of regional markets – especially in the West – and American’s incomes just haven’t kept up.” says David Garner, General Manager at cashflowrentals.net.

But despite the nationwide affordability crisis, a handful of U.S. cities are still within financial reach for median-income households, especially if they can manage a 10% or 20% down payment.

✅ What Zillow Counts as “Affordable”

Zillow considers a home “affordable” if monthly housing costs are less than one-third of a household’s income. For this analysis, they assumed a 10% or 20% down payment—more realistic for most buyers than the full 20%.

When using a 10% down payment, only 11 metro areas still meet that affordability threshold.

When using a 20% down payment, the list expands dramatically. Here are the top metro areas where homeownership is still within reach, ranked from most affordable to least (based on monthly payment):

📊 Most Affordable Metro Areas (with 20% Down Payment)

🏙️ Metro Area	💵 Monthly Payment
Jackson, MS	$1,367
Toledo, OH	$1,434
McAllen, TX	$1,414
Columbia, SC	$1,539
Wichita, KS	$1,579
Little Rock, AR	$1,584
Pittsburgh, PA	$1,601
Augusta, GA	$1,607
Scranton, PA	$1,604
Akron, OH	$1,671
Baton Rouge, LA	$1,662
El Paso, TX	$1,692
Greensboro, NC	$1,696
Syracuse, NY	$1,705
Birmingham, AL	$1,706
Memphis, TN	$1,726
Winston, NC	$1,746
Tulsa, OK	$1,751
Cleveland, OH	$1,753
New Orleans, LA	$1,753
Oklahoma City, OK	$1,765
Louisville, KY	$1,786
Detroit, MI	$1,839
St. Louis, MO	$1,894
Rochester, NY	$1,902
Cincinnati, OH	$1,937
Greenville, SC	$1,961
Indianapolis, IN	$1,963
Des Moines, IA	$2,138
Omaha, NE	$2,147
Harrisburg, PA	$2,158
Columbus, OH	$2,075
Houston, TX	$2,216
Kansas City, MO	$2,254
Chicago, IL	$2,268
Baltimore, MD	$2,674
Minneapolis, MN	$2,711

🧭 What Do These Cities Have in Common?

Most of the affordable metros are found in the Midwest and the South, regions with more flexible zoning, lower building costs, and room to grow. Cities like Toledo, Akron, and Pittsburgh still offer below-average home prices despite recent spikes.

🏘️ “These markets are still affordable for homebuyers, as well as investors looking for cashflow and steady long-term price appreciation,” says Garner. “These are the markets that will show more resilience through 2025. Good quality homes will continue to sell where homebuyers can afford it.”

🔮 What About 10% Down Payment?

With only 10% down, Zillow’s list of “affordable” metros shrinks to just 11 markets, including:

Pittsburgh, PA
Toledo, OH
Columbia, SC
Syracuse, NY
Jackson, MS
Wichita, KS
Akron, OH
Augusta, GA
Little Rock, AR
St. Louis, MO
Birmingham, AL

📌 These are the last holdouts where average families still have a real shot at homeownership without stretching their finances too thin.

🚨 Warning Signs from Buffalo

One place dropping off the affordability list is Buffalo, NY, once considered among the most accessible large cities in the U.S. With inventory half of what it was pre-pandemic, Buffalo’s home values have outpaced local incomes. Even with 20% down, a median-income household now finds the market unaffordable.

💡 Final Thought

🏠 Homeownership isn’t dead—you just have to know where to look. If you’re willing to consider lesser-hyped metros in the Midwest and South, there’s still a path forward.

For investors, make sure you take a conservative approach to underwriting your deals, focus on properties in good condition and with lots of useful life in the major capex items, make sure you’re heavy on tenant vetting and property management, and don’t overleverage.

There hasn’t been a 10-year period in history where house prices haven’t gone up, so if a property cashflows today, there’s no reason not to buy it and just let time do the heavy lifting for you!

FREE DOWNLOAD: 10 Costly Mistakes Foreigners Make Buying U.S. Real Estate