10 best housing markets for first-time home buyers

The top ten cities for first-time home buyers were in the south, sunbelt and pacific northwest, according to personnel finance company Wallethub. 

Eight of the the top 10 cities for first-time buyers were in Florida and Arizona, with some repeats from last year's list. Affordability may be top of mind for first-time home buyers, but high interest rates and stubborn inflation have significantly narrowed their choices over the past two years.

To determine these rankings, personal finance company WalletHub evaluated 300 cities across 22 key metrics, including quality of life metrics like proximity to good schools, driver friendliness, and crime. 

"The best cities for first-time home buyers not only are affordable both in terms of buying a house and living there afterward, but they also have a lot of housing choices as well as low crime rates and good schools," said Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst.  

First-time home buyers made up just 21% of the market last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. Historically, that average is 40%. But as buyers outnumber sellers in many markets, and home discounts are at a historic high, there is opportunity to find the ideal home in South and Sunbelt cities. 

For the numbers below, the median home sale prices are from June and the for sale inventories for these cities are from May, with both datasets sourced from Zillow. Population was taken from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2025.