Starter home hotspots: These metros are best for first-time buyers
The American 鈥渟tarter home鈥 is slipping out of reach, except in the South and Midwest, where the dream remains mostly intact. These modest boxes on hillsides once supported young families waiting for the next baby to launch them into bigger and better things. They represented not only adulthood and stability, but the promise of a lifetime of building equity.
Today, the share of first-time buyers is at a record low, with made by first-timers, according to a National Association of Realtors study looking at data from July 2024 to June 2025. Historically, first-time buyers have comprised up to . Further, buyers are older than ever, with a , up from a in 1991.
In 2025, 20- and 30-somethings are missing out more than their parents or grandparents, with long-term consequences.
Data from 's Starter Home Index shows where no-frills housing has high availability, and also where it鈥檚 affordable and where the quality of life is high, encompassing factors such as safety, cost of living, and unemployment rates.
The index shows that today, new buyers should look to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to grab a spot on the property ladder that balances affordability with availability and livability. But among starter home standouts, it鈥檚 Nashville, Tennessee, where Americans want to move most in 2025.
Key Takeaways
- #1 Oklahoma City is the top city for starter home buyers in the U.S., with high scores across the three core categories: affordability, availability, and livability. #2 Little Rock, #3 Des Moines, #4 Austin, and #5 Birmingham round out the top five.
- The South leads overall, carrying seven of the top 10 spots.
- The Midwest is tops for first-timers in affordability. While six metros land in the top 25 overall, Midwest metros make up 11 of the top 25 in the affordability category.
- That includes Pittsburgh, the #1 most affordable of the top 25.
- Where鈥檚 the hottest move to spot where starter homes are still in style? It鈥檚 Nashville, Tennessee, with the highest ratio of in-moves compared to out in the top 25.
- First-time friendliness leads to popularity. 10 of the top 25 starter home hotspots are also hot move-to destinations in 2025.
Top Cities for First-Time Buyers
The first thing first-timers need to know is: Go east (but not to the Northeast). Twenty-four of the top 25 starter home cities lie east of the 100th meridian, an irrigation line that roughly separates the humid east from the arid plains.
But there are divides within this cluster of eastern starter home destinations: The South leads overall, with top scores in availability and move demand.
The U.S. Census South represents just 32% of the nation (16 states, including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Alabama). But the region claims 70% of the top 10 ranking cities for buying a starter home. That鈥檚 about 2.2 times what one might expect if starter homes were distributed equally across the country.
Meanwhile, the Midwest鈥檚 starter home power is supported by affordability. With four cities in the top 10 for under-35 homeownership, the region is succeeding at getting young adults onto the property ladder, though they bring different strengths to the table. For example, cities like Toledo and Des Moines land in the top 20 American cities for cost of living, while Omaha and Indianapolis rank for low unemployment.
#1 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City leads in availability and livability; it鈥檚 #3 in both categories, with affordability close behind at #6. OKC residents can shop around with 78% of homes in the one-to-three-bedroom range, joining 54% of homeowners under 35. And with 532 available homes per 100,000 residents, they鈥檒l surely find something cool to invest just 20.4% of their income in. That makes it one of the wallet-friendliest cities in America, since mortgage burden in America today ranges from roughly 18% to 60% of monthly income.
#2 Little Rock, Arkansas
Arkansas鈥 capital makes the top 10 with its #6 availability score and with strong affordability. Here, newcomers will find 515.12 for-sale listings per 100,000 residents (almost 25% above the average), while paying just 20.5% of their monthly income, almost 11 points less than what most Americans face. With low mortgage and cost of living burdens, buyers can settle into their very first home with less stress.
#3 Des Moines, Iowa
Iowa鈥檚 capital offers 495.9 listings per 100,000 residents, ranking it #7 in availability. In this city at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, buyers get real choices: 72.3% of homes are in the one-to-two-bedroom range. And that鈥檚 meant that fellow neighbors who are first-timers are plentiful, too 鈥 Des Moines sees 60% of its under-35 residents own their own homes (that鈥檚 #5 nationally).
#4 Austin, Texas
With a whopping 645.7 listings per 100,000 residents (powering its #2 availability rank) and a top-five livability score, Austin is a destination where entry buyers can actually find something from among the 71% of housing stock that consists of one-to-three-bedroom homes. Once they get to Hill Country, they can try to snag one of the highest average incomes of any of the top 25, which makes this young, growing city all the more attractive. Maybe that鈥檚 why it has the highest percentage of 25-35-year-old residents in the field, at over 17%.
#5 Birmingham, Alabama
While Birmingham鈥檚 incomes are about 16% less than the average across cities, local mortgage payments as a share of income, plus starter home prices as a multiplier of annual income, are both 24% and 31% lower, respectively, so residents come out ahead. And with one of the country鈥檚 best unemployment rates (tied for #1 at 2.5%), first-timers stand a good chance of being able to pay for their new home in the future in this booming economy.
#6 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The Burgh relies on its unparalleled affordability to secure a top 10 spot (while #1 in affordability, the city comes in #63 in availability and #53 in livability). The trade-off? A starter home in Pittsburgh will eat up fewer years of your income than any other American city (3.05) and cost newcomers the lowest percentage of income each month (18.21%). And with a below-average cost of living and wages just 1.9% lower than the average, new homeowners can spend their hard-earned cash on local splurges, like opting for the best snowblower money can buy. They鈥檒l still come out ahead.
#7 Tulsa, Oklahoma
Joining Oklahoma City in the top 10, this Sooner State city shines in housing availability, which opens up options for first-time buyers. Its rate of 471 listings per 100,000 residents is almost 14% higher than the national average, so buyers are spoiled for choice. And they鈥檒l likely be able to afford the home they pick out: Tulsa ranks #3 in the country in cost of living. Its #8 livability index isn鈥檛 just fueled by low local price tags. Tulsa is also attractive to young workers with the 10th-lowest unemployment (3.4%) of all cities.
#8 San Antonio, Texas
With 559 listings per 100,000 residents, Texas once again proves its 鈥渂igger-here鈥 construction industry is working to meet the needs of starter home buyers. Availability is San Antonio鈥檚 strong suit, but its balance of affordability factors shows that you鈥檒l be able to pay for more of those options, too. Once you make up your mind, you鈥檒l pay about 3.29 times the average annual income to get onto the property ladder. That low multiplier means that only 22.4% of your monthly check will go to that mortgage, about 9 points lower than the norm.
#9 Fayetteville, Arkansas
Sure, it鈥檚 #51 in affordability, but while its real estate market might take a chunk out of first-timers鈥 savings, its #9 availability index with #1 livability will charm them. The charming university town comes with a stable economy that鈥檚 #12 among all cities in unemployment. Its cost of living is low. And as graduates stay to enjoy the town they鈥檝e grown to love. And in spite of a middling affordability score, the average mortgage payment here, as well as starter home price tags, are less than normal.
#10 Omaha, Nebraska
The prairie city鈥檚 highest showing in livability reflects low unemployment (3.2%), a lower-than-average cost of living, and an average safety rating. It all meshes to create a stable, affordable quality of life for young homebuyers, where the average mortgage will set them back just $1,485. Bargain real estate doesn鈥檛 mean low-ball salaries: The median household income here is 3.2% above the average of all our cities.
Nashville, Tennessee, is the Starter Home Hotspot Everyone Wants to Move to in 2025
With 1.31 newcomers for every person moving away, Music City is the most popular destination that鈥檚 also a starter home Mecca. It comes in #14 overall, proving that while it鈥檚 hard for new buyers to break into desirable locations, it鈥檚 not impossible.
Where else can starter home buyers get in on hot markets? Of the top 25 starter-home-friendly cities, here are the 10 with positive in-move interest.
Counterintuitively, move popularity can benefit first-time buyers.
While increased demand might seem like bad news for affordability (e.g., Austin), popular migration destinations often create conditions that help first-time buyers. First, high in-migration signals developer confidence. Builders are more likely to break ground on new construction, offsetting cost pressures. The circulation of properties can create a fresh real estate landscape with a steady stream of available properties.
Eventually, though, cities struggle to maintain all three factors at once. Investors can chase migration trends, pricing out buyers. Livability comes with extra costs, like maintaining low crime. That erodes affordability. And a cycle of gentrification sets in: Young buyers attract businesses, improvement, and investment, all of which push out the next generation of newcomers.
For now, these 10 cities are balancing all the factors that first-time buyers 鈥 and other newcomers 鈥 want.
First-Time Buyers Can Still Win
Overall, winners must work to manage affordability, availability, and livability. Cities like Oklahoma City and Little Rock are balancing all three better than most other American cities in 2025: They offer a high number of listings, low payment-to-income mortgages, and a reasonable cost of living.
That鈥檚 a combination that can be rare, even in other top cities for starter-home buyers, who struggle to find the perfect recipe. Take Nashville: It鈥檚 #4 in availability but #72 in affordability, with lots to choose from (just not for entry-level buyers). And in Pittsburgh, #1 affordability pairs with #63 availability, so it鈥檚 cheap to own 鈥 if you can find something.
Hitting the three-part combo (affordability, availability, and livability) can be tough, but to win starter-home buyers, cities will have to pull all three of these levers.
How long will they keep it up? It鈥檚 hard to say. But for now, these cities are doing the best at offering first-time buyers their place on the property ladder.
Questions
Where is the best city to afford a starter home?
That鈥檚 Oklahoma City, where affordability (ranked #6), availability (ranked #3), and livability (ranked #3) balance to favor young buyers. It鈥檚 also the only city that scored in the top 10 in all three categories.
Which city is the most affordable for first-time buyers?
With an average household income of $73,942, and an average three-bedroom home price of $225,432, starter home buyers in Pittsburgh can spend a sliver over three times their annual income to secure their first home, handing over a monthly mortgage payment of $1,122. These buyers will own their home and keep more than 80% of their monthly income in their pockets.
Which city is the least affordable for first-time buyers?
The least affordable city in America for starter home buyers is Los Angeles. Angelenos earn around $93,525 yearly, but they鈥檒l need to spend over $900,000 on an average 3-bedroom home. That鈥檚 9.77 years鈥 worth of paychecks. When they get the keys, Angelenos will fork over $4,707 each month to pay for it (60.4% of their incomes).
Which city has the highest availability for first-time buyers?
Though it finishes out of the top 10 overall, the Cape Coral/Fort Myers metro can still brag that it has the highest starter home availability in the country. Though the city boasts 84.7% of homes in the one-to-three-bedroom range (#2 with nearby Sarasota taking the top prize), Cape Coral sees just 22% of its residents under-35 buying their own homes. Yet with a whopping 1,654 starter homes available per 100,000 residents, availability is almost three times that of other top cities.
Methodology
MoveBuddha examined America鈥檚 100 largest metros across three categories essential to uncovering the places best for buying starter homes in America.
- Affordability (50%): The home price to income ratio (median area household income divided by home price) and mortgage rates as a share of average monthly income.
- Availability (25%): The percent of small homes (one to three bedrooms), proportion of under-35 homeownership, and high for-sale inventory per capita.
- Livability (25%): Cost of living, the percentage of 25-35-year-olds, unemployment, and safety.
The researchers added moveBuddha moving search data to understand which of the starter home hotspots are hot for Americans moving, too.
Moving Demand (0%): Where more movers are looking to move in than out, suggesting population and economic growth as well as social appeal.
While the study didn鈥檛 score 鈥渄emand,鈥 first-time buyers get a boost from economically strong destinations that are attracting not just first-timers, but newcomers at all levels of their careers and financial journeys. The addition of inflow data helps identify not just where new buyers can get into a home, but where they can secure their futures by being part of a growing community and economy.
was produced by and reviewed and distributed by 爆料TV.
