17 Desirable Cities Where You Need Just $60K or Less To Buy a Home
Saving for a house typically means putting away enough money for a 20% down payment and then chalking up future earnings to debt and mortgage payments for the next 30 years, give or take.
Given that the national average for home values in the U.S. is around $358,771, that means many people need over $70,000 saved to purchase a property. However, there are still many housing markets in popular areas where having at least $50,000 in the bank can have a realtor handing you keys in no time.
Instead of wishing and hoping, here is MoneyLion’s guide to 17 cities where you need only around $60,000 saved to buy a home, based on typical down payment requirements, median home prices and buyer costs, ranked from most expensive to least expensive.
Now you’ll know just how many pretty pennies to stash in your piggy bank before you can scoop up some real estate in these markets.
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1. Norfolk, Virginia
Average home value: $299,791
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $59,958
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $17,422
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $58,073
2. Chicago
Average home value: $298,957
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $59,791
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $17,373
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $57,911
3. Fort Worth, Texas
Average home value: $295,756
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $59,151
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $17,187
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $57,291
4. Jacksonville, Florida
Average home value: $295,023
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $59,005
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $17,145
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $57,149
5. Tallahassee, Florida
Average home value: $293,459
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $58,692
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $17,054
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $56,846
6. Garland, Texas
Average home value: $290,621
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $58,124
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $16,889
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $56,297
7. St. Paul, Minnesota
Average home value: $289,150
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $57,830
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $16,804
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $56,012
8. Omaha, Nebraska
Average home value: $283,824
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $56,765
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $16,494
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $54,980
9. Grand Rapids, Michigan
Average home value: $281,175
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $56,235
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $16,340
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $54,467
10. Lincoln, Nebraska
Average home value: $276,642
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $55,328
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $16,077
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $53,589
11. Ocala, Florida
Average home value: $272,467
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $54,493
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $15,834
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $52,780
12. Houston
Average home value: $269,681
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $53,936
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $15,672
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $52,240
13. Greensboro, North Carolina
Average home value: $265,220
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $53,044
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $15,413
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $51,376
14. Columbus, Ohio
Average home value: $261,161
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $52,232
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $15,177
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $50,590
15. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Average home value: $259,280
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $51,856
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $15,068
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $50,226
16. Louisville, Kentucky
Average home value: $255,152
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $51,030
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $14,828
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $49,426
17. Pensacola, Florida
Average home value: $254,225
Savings needed for 20% down payment: $50,845
Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $14,774
Salary needed to afford a mortgage with 20% down payment: $49,246
Methodology: For this piece, we looked at the 50 largest housing markets with 2025 typical home values below $300,000, as sourced from December 2025 Zillow data. We deemed this “affordable” as the national average is $357,815, thus $300,000 and below is well below the national average (16%+). With these cities isolated we found the following: (1) savings needed for a down payment at 20%, 15%, 10% and 6%; (2) annual mortgage cost at 20%, 15%, 10% and 6% respectively; and (3) salary needed to afford mortgage at 20%, 15%, 10% and 6%, assuming that no more than 30% of pre-tax income should be put towards housing. For all mortgage calculations, we assumed a 30-year fixed rate at 6.09% as sourced from Freddie Mac, with no P+I, property tax or HOA fees. All data was collected and is up to date as of Feb. 12, 2026.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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