Are you looking for a great deal on a house? You don't have to look far. Really. Some of the most affordable housing markets in the United States are practically in your backyard, if not your actual backyard.

Related: Michigan City Ranked the Most Well-Educated in the Country

HomeBuyer.com recently did a deep dive into what makes a city a great bargain for home buyers. They pulled numbers from the US Census Bureau and Altos Research and went about finding the algorithm that would reveal the nation's best market to buy and own a home.

Michigan Cities' Secret Sauce for Affordable Home Purchase and Ownership

4 Michigan Cities Are Among USA's 10 Most Affordable to Buy Home Detroit, Michigan
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It's not just about the house. It's the sale price, mortgage payment, property taxes, and so much more that make a city affordable for homeownership. Fuel and electric costs, plus the cost of your commute, and don't forget about insurance.

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Insurance rates play a big part in making Michigan affordable. Having  "no earthquakes, hurricanes, or tidal waves" gives the Mitten a leg up on more disaster-prone states like California, Florida, and Louisiana.

4 Michigan Cities Are Among USA's 10 Most Affordable to Buy Home Pontiac, Michigan
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For perspective, let's take a look at the nation's most affordable place to buy a home, according to HomeBuyer.com, Macon, Georgia:

CategoryMonthly Cost
Mortgage Payment$871
Insurance Costs$187
Property Taxes$94
Transportation Costs$1,021
Total Cost of Homeownership$1,892

Macon looks affordable, but coming in at #2? I'm pretty sure you've already guessed, Detroit, Michigan:

CategoryMonthly Cost
Mortgage Payment$771
Insurance Costs$185
Property Taxes$126
Transportation Costs$1,150
Total Cost of Homeownership$1,921

This isn't the first time Detroit has shown up on similar lists. In 2019, Forbes named it the nation's #1 most affordable housing market. So, what other Michigan cities landed in the Top 10? The Great Lakes State pops up quite a few times in HomeBuyer.com's Top 100.

America's Top 100 Most Affordable Cities to Buy a Home

HomeBuyer.com, using information from Altos Research and the US Census Bureau, was able to calculate the United States of America's Best City to Buy Home.
Looking at everything from insurance rates, fuel costs, average mortgage payments, property taxes, and more, they assigned each city an Affordability Score and based on that, were able to determine which city is America's best to take the homeownership leap.

Gallery Credit: Scott Clow

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