New Report Reveals the Small Towns with the Highest Home Prices

We all know bigger cities like LA are expensive, but some small towns are shockingly on par.

Big cities always get such a bad reputation for being ridiculously expensive. Whether it’s LA or NYC, conversations around home ownership in these metros often spark questions like: “Is it really worth it?” But what about smaller cities? It’s typically assumed that the smaller and more remote, the cheaper the housing market is. But according to a recent report by LendingTree that’s not always the case.

The online lending company used US Census Bureau data to calculate the most expensive median home values for 50 US towns with populations between 10,000 and 50,000.

Courtesy of LendingTree

LendingTree's full report breaks down all of the details, but here are the top 1ten most expensive towns on the list:

1. Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts (median home price: $699,500)

2. Breckenridge, Colorado (median home price: $579,600)

3. Jackson, Wyoming (median home price: $549,800)

4. Steamboat Springs, Colorado (median home price: $535,300)

5. Hailey, Idaho (median home price: $413,700)

6. Gardnerville Ranchos, Nevada (median home price: $378,800)

7. Hood River, Oregon (median home price: $373,600)

8. Juneau, Alaska (median home price: $345,900)

9. Easton, Maryland (median home price: $336,800)

10. Los Alamos, New Mexico (median home price: $302,800)

Surprisingly, living in some of these smaller towns is on par with living in bigger, metropolitan areas. Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, the top town on the list, is comparable with living in Los Angeles. LendingTree also calculated how much higher the median home value would be compared to the median household income. Our first city on the list is Vineyard Haven, once again, with the medium home value being 9.74 times higher than household income. Right behind Vineyard Haven is Hailey, Idaho, with 7.52 times higher home value, and Breckenridge, Colorado, coming in at No. 3 with 7.31 higher home value.

According to LendingTree, these towns are so expensive for many reasons. One reason is proximity to popular vacation spots. Well-off individuals can afford to buy expensive property in these areas, but don’t make their money locally. This drives up home prices making houses difficult to afford for locals who do not earn as much.

These numbers may shift in the coming years as the pandemic continues and many high earners abandon their city lifestyles for smaller towns in this WFH age.

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Janae Price is a News Staff Writer at Thrillist. She's a native New Yorker and loves all things cheese, K-pop, and culture. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @janae_larie.