By Olivia Pocat
The United States is a big country with 50 states, all with different reputations. From the East Coast to the West Coast and everywhere in between, house prices differ greatly. In 2021, the average price of a house, when taking into account every single state, is $375,000. Hawaii has the highest house price average, while Mississippi and West Virginia have the lowest. A staggering difference of $500,000 separates the pricing costs between both states. Specific counties also yield high prices, including Santa Clara and San Francisco county. The average price of a home is almost $1,200,000, making it too expensive for most people to live in these areas. However, the income median in this area is higher than the national average, which is why the cost of living is so high. The most affordable place to live is in Cedar Park, Texas, where the cost of living index is 7.2% below the national average, and the median income is 17.8% above the national median. These facts demonstrate some of the differences between housing prices.
Here are some of the average housing prices.
Hawaii $636,451
District of Columbia $626,911
California $554,886
Massachusetts $422,856
Oregon $361,970
Arizona $268,765
Florida $245,169
Texas $207,301
Georgia $201,294
Pennsylvania $194,603
Michigan $173,277
Louisiana $166,565
Mississippi $126,502
West Virginia $108,236
These prices show keen differences in the housing prices which differ due to several different factors. Some of these include mortgage rates, economic recessions, local market conditions, inflation, and the size of the house. Due to such high house prices, upwards of $5 million in some places, a lot of people rent as well, instead of buying homes. Even though housing prices are higher in Hawaii and California, places such as North Dakota and Michigan are said to have better housing that is affordable for people’s incomes. The population of a state also affects the price of a home within that state. When population increases within a state, the housing demand goes up, which leads to an increase in price of housing. Similarly, if the population of a state declines, then housing prices would decrease, because there’s no more demand for the housing. Over the past couple of years, people have tended to move from big cities to smaller towns in the suburbs. This creates a change of population and differences in the demographic layout of families. This also leads to differences in housing prices. All of these factors demonstrate the differences in housing prices throughout the United States and between different states.