We know you’re tired of thinking about how expensive homes are and how competitive the real estate market is—because honestly, so are we. But if you must move, and you are prioritizing space for your money, it may be helpful to know how much house you’ll get in cities across the country.
Real estate listing site RealtyHop recently analyzed the square footage you can buy in major US cities if you spend $350,000, which was the national median home sale price in January 2022.
As you might expect, that money goes a long way in the South and Midwest (as cheap as $73.39 per square foot in Detroit) and barely gets you a studio in places like New York and San Francisco (where you’ll pay $1,003.18 per square foot). In fact, of the 10 cities where you get the least bang for your buck, seven are in California.
Top 10 cities with the most space for $350K
Detroit, MI: 4,769 sq. ft.
Birmingham, AL: 4,631 sq. ft.
Cleveland, OH: 3,907 sq. ft.
Lubbock, TX: 3,569 sq ft.
Wichita, KS: 3,475 sq. ft.
Buffalo, NY: 3,274 sq. ft.
Fort Wayne, IN: 3,234 sq. ft.
Laredo, TX: 2,842 sq. ft.
Baton Rouge, LA: 2,784 sq. ft.
El Paso, TX: 2,742 sq. ft.
Top 10 cities with the least space for $350K
San Francisco, CA: 349 sq. ft.
New York, NY: 404 sq. ft.
Fremont, CA: 428 sq. ft.
Boston, MA: 477 sq. ft.
San Jose, CA: 478 sq. ft.
Irvine: CA: 528 sq. ft.
Honolulu, HI: 532 sq. ft.
Los Angeles, CA: 538 sq. ft.
San Diego, CA: 540 sq. ft.
Oakland, CA: 581 sq. ft.
Obviously, this is a generalization, as prices vary across neighborhoods in a single city and can be higher or lower depending on a whole host of other factors. But these data reflect exactly what you would expect in terms of the relationship between cost and home size in desirable locales across the country.