Across the U.S., homeowners are spending an average of 39% of their income on housing, above the traditional 30% affordability benchmark. In some Midwest and Southern markets, home prices are lower, although high poverty rates continue to challenge many of those communities.
A large share of the nation’s most affordable cities are in the Rust Belt, where housing stock tends to be older. According to a Redfin analysis of median-income homes and median sale prices from January through November 2025, every city in the top 50 most affordable markets has a median sale price of $300,000 or below, keeping monthly payments at least manageable for many households.
Topping the list is Bellefontaine Neighbors, Missouri, in the St. Louis metro area, where a household earning the median income of about $48,354 would spend just 16% of earnings on an average home costing roughly $101,106. That translates to a monthly mortgage payment of just $645. That said, Redfin noted that decades of economic disinvestment and discriminatory housing policies have kept prices low and the city faces a 22.4% poverty rate.
Nearby Ferguson, Missouri, follows closely, with a 17.9% payment-to-income ratio. Households earning $46,106 face a median home price of $107,507, with a monthly payment of $686, while the poverty rate is higher at 24.9%. Detroit, also in the top three, mirrors this pattern. Residents spend 17.9% of their income on housing, with monthly payments for a $92,304 home, but the city’s poverty rate is 31.5%, the highest among the top 10 markets.
Some Southern cities combine higher prices with higher incomes. Broussard, Louisiana, in the Lafayette metro, has an 18.4% payment-to-income ratio, with household earnings of $116,613 on prices of $280,407, yielding a $1,790 monthly mortgage. The market has a poverty rate of 16.5%. Similarly, Bayou Cane, Louisiana, part of the Houma metro area, has an 18.6% ratio: households earning $73,235 pay $177,786 for the typical home, with a $1,135 monthly mortgage. The poverty rate is 18.7%.
Beyond the top five, other cities in the top ten continue to show how affordability varies across the Midwest and South. West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, in the Pittsburgh metro, comes in sixth with a 19.1% payment-to-income ratio, a $70,335 median income, a $174,981 median home price, a $1,117 monthly mortgage and the lowest poverty rate among the top ten at 11.9%. Sharing the same ratio is Moss Point, Mississippi, in the Gulfport metro, where households earn $46,684, pay $743 monthly for a $116,393 home and face a 17.9% poverty rate.
Dunbar, West Virginia, in the Charleston metro, ranks eighth with a 19.6% ratio, a $54,647 median income, a $139,887 median home price, and an $893 monthly mortgage, alongside an 18.3% poverty rate. Garfield Heights, Ohio, in the Cleveland metro, is ninth with a 19.8% ratio translating to an $859 monthly mortgage on a $134,573 home for residents earning $52,006. The poverty rate in Garfield Heights is 21.4%.
Rounding out the top ten is Spanish Lake, Missouri, back in the St. Louis metro, with a 20% ratio, a $133,300 median home price, an $851 monthly mortgage and a median income of $51,125. The market’s poverty rate is 17.3%.
Even markets that boomed during the pandemic are showing signs of affordability. Austin, Texas, saw its housing market cool dramatically after peaking in 2021, leaving a surplus of inventory as residents moved away. Leander, in the Austin area, posts a payment-to-income ratio of 23.2% for residents earning an average salary of $140,180. The average home sells for $423,991, which translates into a monthly payment of $2,707. Leander’s poverty rate is much lower than that of many other markets on the list, at 4.4%. This puts it at 54th on the list.
Looking ahead, Redfin expects a gradual improvement in affordability as wages rise faster than housing costs.
“Rising wages and declining costs may bring some life back to the market in 2026, but until homebuilding catches up to years of unmet demand, affordability will remain a challenge,” said Asad Khan, senior economist at Redfin.
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