15 of the Most Affordable Housing Markets in America

With the median price of a single-family home approaching $400,000 and interest rates on the rise, the ability to buy a home of their own is leaving growing numbers of Americans behind.

But the ability to work from home, and job availability in general, means in places like, say, Boston, with a median home price of about $730,000, or the Silicon Valley, where a million dollars in cash doesn't buy much -- if anything -- in many communities, many don't have to give up trying to buy a home.

A lot of those high-tech jobs just might telecommute quite nicely to the towns on this list. This info is from Realtor.com, just one of many sites that can be easily searched to find some of America's most affordable housing markets.

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With a population of about 190,000 residents, Akron is just south of Cleveland and just north of Canton. And while it's no longer the tire manufacturing capital of the world, it has a lot of affordable homes.

At this writing, Realtor.com lists 872 homes for sale in Akron, with a median listing price of $112,200. The prices ranged from $5,000 to $4.5 million and median price per square foot was $85.

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Nestled at the edge of the Adirondacks, Utica has a population of about 65,000 and a median price of about $159,900 for a single-family home. There were 292 listings as of this writing, ranging from $14,900 to $1.3 million at a median price of $108 per square foot.

A quintessential Midwest community of about 114,000 residents, with a new Rivian plant nearby adding to the employment prospects, Peoria currently has about 580 homes for sale with a median listing price of $119,000 at about $77 per square foot. Prices range up to $1.8 million, according to Realtor.com.

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Macon is the "heart of Georgia," right in the middle of the Peach State and about 80 miles from Atlanta. The median price to buy a house in Macon is $170,000. The 1,259 homes for sale in this community of about 153,000 people range from $3,500 to $2.2 million, and the median price per square foot is $99.

While the Motor City is making a notable comeback, there are still a lot of houses that can be bought on the cheap in this town of about 675,000 people and 180 neighborhoods. The median price for the 2,109 listed homes is $75,000, with a range of $950 to $4.3 million and a median price per square foot of $75.

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Perched on that piece of Lake Erie coast carved out for the Keystone State, Erie has a population of about 97,000 and 595 homes for sale at this writing, ranging from $2,500 to $1.7 million at a median square-foot price of $105. That could provide some sailing space for real estate investors interested in this Great Lakes market.

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Sheffield sits along the scenic Tennessee River, sharing its Northern Alabama home with the larger and pricier communities of Muscle Shoals (and its legendary recording studios) and Florence.

The smaller of the three, Sheffield only has about 9,000 residents, and the 79 homes now listed are selling for a median price of $75 per square foot, or $110,000, ranging from $5,000 to $1.8 million.

One of the Quad Cities on the Mississippi River border of Illinois and Iowa, Davenport has a population of about 102,000 and, at this writing, 491 homes listed for sale. The median listing price is $159,000, or $106 per square foot, and offerings range from $12,500 to $3.6 million.

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Set amongst cotton fields and near outdoors destinations such as the huge Santee-Cooper Lakes, about halfway between Columbia and Charleston, Orangeburg is a Central South Carolina community of about 13,000 people. The 171 homes currently listed range from $5,000 to $2.2 million, with a median price per square foot of $104.

Wichita Falls lies near the Oklahoma border and is about a two-hour drive to both Dallas and Oklahoma City. It's home to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum and about 104,000 other residents.

The median listing price for the 295 homes on the market is $173,400, or about $111 per square foot, with a price range of $5,000 to $5.3 million.

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Charleston is the state capital of West Virginia and can be almost heaven to homebuyers. There you'll find a population of about 48,000 people and 406 homes on the market as of this writing, ranging from $4,500 to $4 million, with a median price of $164,900 and a price per square foot of $94.

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For a capital city with so much corporate activity -- several Fortune 500 companies have major presences there -- and that's only about 40 minutes from Kansas City, Topeka sure looks cheap.

The median listing price for the 94 homes currently listed is $139,000, or $94 per square foot, and the asking prices range from $5,000 to $1.8 million in this community of about 125,000 residents.

It's not Spam when we tell you that Austin -- population about 26,000 -- is still the hometown of Hormel Foods, maker of that iconic canned meat product.

Located in Minnesota's southeast corner, Austin has 91 homes for sale at this writing, with a median listing price of $165,000, or $84 per square foot, with the most expensive going for $995,000.

ALSO READ: Hormel Foods: What Nobody Talks About

Terre Haute is a college town -- Indiana State University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology are there -- with a population of about 61,000. The city is located on cross-country Interstate 70, about 75 miles west of Indianapolis on the Wabash River near the Illinois border.

At this writing, Realtor.com says there are 423 homes for sale at a median listing price of $129,900, or $92 per square foot, and ranging from $3,500 to $5.5 million.

Natchez has more backdrop than one might expect in a town of about 15,000 people, but this Mississippi Delta riverfront icon has a heady mix of Native American, antebellum, Civil War history, and some reasonable real estate.

The 243 homes currently listed there range from $5,000 to $9.3 million, with a median listing price of $176,000, or about $100 per square foot.

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These are just a few of the thousands of places across America where housing affordability problems are giving way to opportunities for a growing legion of migrants away from the coasts and the big cities.

Savvy shoppers could well find themselves in what's now a distinct rarity -- a buyer's market -- in many of these markets since demand hasn't outstripped supply like in so many other places. Yet.

Marc Rapport has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.