SmartAsset set out to find the best metros for people in the middle class to buy a home, and it turns out that the Midwest is best.
The middle class is generally defined as households with incomes between two-thirds to double that of the national median household income. As a result of data availability, we defined middle class as households earning between $35,000 and $100,000 for the purposes of this study. For details on our data sources and how we put the information together to create our final rankings, check out the Data and Methodology section below.
Key Findings
The middle class thrives in the Midwest. Six of our top 10 states are located in the Midwest: Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
There are wide ranges across many of the metrics we considered. The percentage of households in the middle class ranges across the study from 31% in the District of Columbia to 49% in Idaho. The median home value ranges from $121,300 in West Virginia to $631,700 in Hawaii.
Here's the full list:
