4 of 10
BACKNEXT
Fourth place: Youngstown, Ohio
Fourth place: Youngstown, Ohio
This is a big 5-bed, 4-bath home for just $149,000.
Median home price: $76,000
Median income: $54,300
Affordability score: 93%

Youngstown was a vibrant, wealthy steel city for many decades. Workers there were paid some of the highest factory wages anywhere.

But the mill closings of the late 1970s devastated the area's economy and about 40,000 manufacturing jobs were lost. Today, 13% of workers in the area are unemployed.

As jobs vanished, the area's population shrank, leaving lots of vacant homes for sale -- from very modest row houses to huge mansions. That helps keep the median home price in the metro area very low -- and boosts Youngstown's affordability score.

Low interest rates also help. Financing 80% of a $76,000 home with a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage at around 5% would result in a monthly payment of $326. At those kinds of prices, renters soon become homebuyers. Throw in the first-time homebuyers tax credit, which basically refunds about 10% of the purchase price, and you have great deals for entry-level homebuyers.

NEXT: Fifth place: Akron, Ohio
Last updated February 19 2010: 7:45 AM ET
Email | Print | Share  |  RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Special Offer

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.