These Are the Most Affordable Cities for Gen Z to Buy Their First Homes

Mary Elizabeth Andriotis
·2 min read
Photo credit: Living Cozy
Photo credit: Living Cozy

Attention, all Gen Zers! If you're a twenty-something shopping for your first home, you're in luck: Homeware brand Living Cozy just released a new study mapping the most-affordable cities in the U.S. for first-time homebuyers.

Detroit ranks at the top of the list, with low house prices likely driven by the financial struggles the city has faced. In 2013, the Michigan city was the largest in the U.S. to file for bankruptcy—which, of course, negatively impacted its housing market.

In the second spot is Cleveland, Ohio, where the cost of living is reportedly 27.4% lower than the national average—meaning that not only house prices are cheaper there, but also transportation, groceries, utilities, and entertainment.

And in third place is Toledo, Ohio—though it's worth noting that the city did not make the study’s list of the 30 best U.S. cities for Gen Z to live in, due to its high crime rates.

See the full top ten below:

  1. Detroit, Michigan. Median Property Price: $61,539.

  2. Cleveland, Ohio. Median Property Price: $97,439.

  3. Toledo, Ohio. Median Property Price: $99,507.

  4. Memphis, Tennessee. Median Property Price: $129,392.

  5. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Median Property Price: $159,080.

  6. St Louis, Missouri. Median Property Price: $160,052.

  7. Wichita, Kansas. Median Property Price: $164,491.

  8. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Median Property Price: $168,803.

  9. El Paso, Texas. Median Property Price: $173,839.

  10. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Median Property Price: $173,843.

Other interesting highlights from the study:

  • Oregon is one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly states in the United States, given that 5.6% of the state’s population identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

  • New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco all received perfect scores on the equality index.

  • New Jersey is the state with the greatest number of job listings, with 94,419 job listings per 100,000 people.

  • Minneapolis is the city with the smallest gender pay gap (about 3%), with women making an average annual salary of $45,805 and men typically making $47,297.

Want to learn more? Take a look at all of the report's findings here.

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