66 data-driven rankings built from Zillow ZHVI / ZORI and US Census place population. Updated when underlying data refreshes.
Momentum & market direction
Hottest US cities
Top 50 by composite momentum
Cities at all-time highs
Markets that didn't give back gains
Biggest bargains
Most off 5-year peak with prior growth
Cooling off
Bottom 50 by momentum
Emerging luxury
Affordable cities becoming expensive
Most stable markets
Smallest 5-yr CAGR — boring is good
Where renting beats buying
High P/R + weak momentum
Long-term compounders
By size
Best small towns
5k-25k pop, momentum 50+
Small Sun Belt towns
Sun Belt + sub-25k
Best mid-size cities
50k-200k, momentum 50+
Big cities with momentum
250k+, momentum 50+
By price
Affordable under $300k
Affordable + not declining
Cheapest US cities
Lowest median home values
Affordable + hot
Under $300k AND momentum 65+
For first-time buyers
$150k-$300k, decent momentum
For first-time buyers (2026)
Updated for 2026 conditions
Most expensive US cities
Highest median home values
Most expensive US states
Highest state-level medians
Cheapest cost of living
Lowest COL states
By rent / rental yield
Highest rental yield
Best gross rent ÷ home price
Lowest rental yield
Appreciation, not cash flow
Cheapest rent
Lowest median rents
Highest rent
Highest median rents
Rents rising fastest
Where renters face steep renewals
Rents falling
Where renters have leverage
Affordable rent + mid-size
$800-$1300/mo + 50k+ pop
By region
Sun Belt
FL, TX, AZ, NC, SC, TN, GA…
Rust Belt comeback
OH, MI, PA, NY, WI, IN, IL
New England
ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT
Mountain West
CO, UT, MT, WY, ID + AZ, NV, NM
Pacific Coast
WA, OR, CA with momentum
Texas + neighbors
TX, OK, LA, AR, NM
Bright spots in shrinking states
Local growth in declining states
By climate / setting
Mild winters
Avg lows above freezing
Mild summers
Avg highs in 70s-low 80s
Warm-south retirement
Non-FL Sun Belt retirement
Beach towns
Coastal + small
Mountain towns
Elevation + outdoor
Near national parks
Gateway towns
By lifestyle
Most walkable
Dense pre-WWII downtowns
Most walkable cities
Alternate ranking
Affordable + walkable
Under $400k AND walkable
Best transit cities
Genuine public transit
Best for remote work
Mid-size + sub-$600k + growing
For remote workers
Original list
For remote workers (2026)
Updated for 2026 conditions
By audience / life stage
By career / profession
For investors
5-yr CAGR + current momentum
For house flipping
Affordable + growing
For house-hacking
Live-in rental cash-flow
For cash-flow investing
8%+ yield + healthy
For software engineers
FAANG + tier-2 metros
For healthcare workers
Major systems anchored
For nurses
Healthcare hubs
For teachers
Mid-size + affordable + stable
For veterans
Near major military bases
By tax / cost
No state income tax
TX, FL, TN, WA, NV, WY, SD, AK, NH
No-income-tax cities
Alternate ranking
Low property tax
Lowest effective rates
High property tax
Highest effective rates