Yahoo Finance Westward Ho! These Five Super Affordable Cities and Towns Might Surprise You
When it comes to picking a town to settle down in, there are a lot of factors that don’t make the process easy.
Good schools, a safe neighborhood and plenty of places to shop, dine and explore are usually at the top of potential buyers’ “wants” lists, but that combination can be tricky to find.
In their latest issue, Sunset has filtered out 20 of the towns that give you the best bang for your buck in the Pacific time zone, taking into consideration median home price, average property tax, population and more. Here, the top spot from each of 5 region profiled where you can win in the West.
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1. Northern California: Nevada City, CA
Population: 3,145
Median family income: $55,000
Median home price: $377,000
Average property tax: $2,719
Year-over-year home appreciation: 7.4 percent
Number of live concerts per year: 65
2. Southern California: Ventura, CA
Population: 108,765
Median family income: $80,461
Median home price: $497,000
Average property tax: $3,242
Year-over-year home appreciation: 5 percent
Animal and plant species endemic to the nearby Channel Islands: 145
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3. Mountains: Boise, ID
Population: 219,339
Median family income: $64,952
Median home price: $216,916
Average property tax: $2,328
Year-over-year home appreciation: 10.9 percent
Time it took to sell out a second ramen pop-up: 19 minutes
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4. Southwest: Prescott, AZ
Population: 41,723
Median family income: $56,958
Median home price: $285,000
Average property tax: $1,412
Year-over-year home appreciation: 5.5 percent
Annual increase in visits to the city’s popular Peavine Trail: 11 percent
5. Northwest: Vancouver, WA
Population: 172,003
Median family income: $57,000
Median home price: $247,000
Average property tax: $2,611
Year-over-year home appreciation: 12.7 percent
Percentage of district teachers with a master’s degree or higher: 75 percent
Before you pack your bags and head out to Boise, though, don’t forget to check out the other contenders here, or in this month’s issue of Sunset, on newsstands now.
