Texas is the fifth cheapest state to buy a home in the U.S., according to a study from Rocket Mortgage. The study compared multiple factors to determine the cheapest states to buy a home, including the change in single-family home prices between the third and fourth quarters of 2021, the cost of living index and median family income.
The cost of living index refers to the amount of money that is needed to live a “comfortable lifestyle,” the study said. The index is scored on a scale with 100 being the average. Scores below 100 represent more affordable costs of living, while score above 100 refer to costs of living that are higher than the average.
Texas has a cost of living index of 92.1 and a median household income of $75,100, the study said, making it one of the most affordable states to buy a home in. The median home value in Texas reached $325,000 in the first quarter of 2022, an 18.6% increase from the first quarter of 2021, according to Texas Realtors.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott highlighted the state’s ranking on Twitter in a recent post. On Sunday, Abbott tweeted a link to another story about Texas’ affordability, writing, “Texas is the fifth cheapest state in which to buy a home in 2022."
Tennessee is the cheapest state in the U.S. to buy a home in, the study said. Illinois, Oklahoma and Ohio are all also in the top five, with Texas rounding out the list. Oregon is the most expensive state to buy a home in, followed by New Mexico, Alaska, Utah and Hawaii, the study said.
Chandler France grew up in Orange County, California and graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in journalism in May 2021. He moved to Houston and started his career in journalism at Community Impact Newspaper in June 2021. Chandler started as Hearst's Texas Digital Reporter in February 2022.
