Median home price: $166,000
Median income: $71,500
Affordability score: 91.1%
Ogden's population has been rapidly expanding, thanks to the large families of Mormons that reside here, according to Jaren Pope, an economics professor at Brigham Young University.
Pro-business policies have attracted many private employers, such as FJ Management, an oil services company,
Convergys, a business consultancy, and Autoliv, an automotive safety systems company, all of which are based in Ogden. And there's also the IRS, which runs a big facility with 5,000 workers.
A high growth rate, in both the population and the economy, isn't usually a recipe for affordable home prices. Indeed, home prices in Ogden slightly exceed the national median.
However, Utah's pro-business policies also extend to real estate developers. And, as a result, home building can be done much more economically.
The biggest problem in Ogden is finding land to build on since the town runs up against the Wasatch Mountains, said Pope.
Still, with the median home price at $166,000 and incomes high here, Ogden is one of the most affordable of all western markets.
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