Here’s How Many Houses You Can Buy In Cities Across The U.S. For The Price Of One Home In San Francisco

LendingTree recently released a fun report looking at “how many median-priced homes a person could buy in each of the nation’s 50 largest cities for the cost of a single median-priced home in San Francisco.”

The research looked at the country’s top 50 largest cities to gain a perspective on just how pricey San Francisco is. “We did this as a different way to look at home prices across the country,” said LendingTree’s Chief Economist Tendayi Kapfidze.

Let’s look at where your money goes the farthest. Now, these may not be on your list of cities you want to move to. Yet it’s still fun to see the differences. LendingTree used $1,195,700 as the number for a single median-priced home in San Francisco.   

Here’s the top ten cities on the list by ranking: Detroit, Memphis, Milwaukee, El Paso, Indianapolis, Tulsa, San Antonio, Columbus, Oklahoma City, and Omaha. “The takeaway fundamental here is this is about the land value and not so much the structure on it,” Kapfidze explains. “The land value in San Francisco is so high which is reflected in the median price,” he adds.

In Detroit which tops the list, you could buy up a neighborhood when compared to San Francisco. There you can buy the “equivalent of 23 homes.” The median price for a single-family home in Detroit is $51,600. That’s a significant difference between Detroit and San Francisco of $1,144,100.

Memphis, Tennessee not only has great barbeque and Graceland, the median price there is $103,700. That would buy you 11.5 homes there compared to San Francisco. That’s a difference of $1,092,000. In Cordova, just east of Memphis proper if you go above that median price to $163, 286 you’ll find a 2,750 square foot home in foreclosure with upgrades and large pool. 

Milwaukee offers good value for the money if you can take the weather. If you’re a baseball fan, the Milwaukee Brewers did pretty well this past season. The median price home of $123,600, will get you 9.5 homes there compared to San Francisco.  There’s a 1,396 square foot home built in 1914 on the market for $136,900. It shows well with new wood floors, granite countertops in the kitchen, redone baths and original built-in cabinets with stained glass accents. 

El Paso where the median home price is $130,900, you can buy 9.13 homes compared to only one in San Francisco minus those great bay views.

Despite these numbers, there are many homebuyers who can and will pay San Francisco prices because it is truly a gem of a city.