The 20 best cities for first-time homebuyers

Complimentary Access Pill
Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

The cities in the ranking were rated on a range of factors indicating affordability, real estate market attractiveness and quality of life, and given an overall total score out of 100 (where 100 = the top score). To produce this report, WalletHub compared 300 cities of varying sizes across 22 indicators. 

In the ranking below, the top five cities have an average total score of 64.5.

Below the total score, each city's ranking out of the 300 cities on affordability, real estate market and quality of life is listed.

Source: WalletHub which used data from U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Council for Community and Economic Research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Insurance Information Institute, The National Association of Realtors, ATTOM, a property data provider, and WalletHub research.

National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Green Bay, WI_20.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Las Vegas, NV_19.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Reno, NV_18.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Boca Raton, FL_17.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Peoria, AZ_16.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Virginia Beach, VA_15.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Sunrise, FL_14.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Thornton, CO_13.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Chandler, AZ_12.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Lakeland, FL_11.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Henderson, NV_10.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Chesapeake, VA_9.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Boise, ID_8.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Gilbert, AZ_7.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Surprise, AZ_6.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Orlando, FL_5.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Port St. Lucie, FL_4.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Tampa, FL_3.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Cape Coral, FL_2.jpg
National Mortgage News_20 best cities for first time homebuyers_Palm Bay, FL_1.jpg
MORE FROM NATIONAL MORTGAGE NEWS