Buying a home can mean monthly expenses that are much higher than your mortgage payment. Home insurance, maintenance fees, homeowner’s association dues, property taxes, and more can add hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars to your monthly bills. So it’s important to keep all of these costs in mind as you’re searching for a home.
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To help you find places where you can keep your overall costs low, GOBankingRates compiled data from The Tax Foundation and the U.S. Census Bureau to identify states with both low home prices and low property taxes. If you’re looking for a home in one of these seven states, you’ll get much more value for your money and get closer to your dream of homeownership.
Let’s take a closer look at the bargain market for smart buyers.
Alabama
- tax rate: 0.40%
- Median home price: $200,900
- Average annual property taxes: $803.59
Alabama has one of the lowest property tax rates in the country, and the average home price is about 45% lower than the national average.
Putting these two together, you get an average annual property tax payment of roughly $800 per month, making it one of the few states where the average is less than $67 per month.
According to U.S. News and World Report, Alabama has the third-lowest overall cost of living in the country, making it a very affordable state to live in.
Louisiana
- tax rate: 0.56%
- Median home price: $196,300
- Average annual property taxes: $1,095.89
Looking to pay around $91 in monthly property taxes? Consider buying a home in Louisiana. With property tax rates roughly half the national average and a median home price of less than $200,000, Louisiana’s housing market is highly affordable.
However, according to U.S. News and World Report, Louisiana ranks 48th in median household income, which makes it difficult for Louisiana residents to find housing outside of the most affordable states.
Wyoming
- tax rate: 0.56%
- Median home price: $252,800
- Average annual property taxes: $1,404.42
If you enjoy the great outdoors, buying a home in Wyoming isn’t too expensive either: property taxes are about 50% of the national average, and home prices are more than $100,000 lower than the national median price.
Add it all up and your monthly property tax bill will be about $117.
Kentucky
- tax rate: 0.83%
- Median home price: $206,600
- Average annual property taxes: $1,710.91
Kentucky’s property tax rates are relatively high compared to other states on this list, but they’re still significantly lower than the national average. The state’s low median home price keeps the average annual property tax rate at nearly $1,700, or about $142 per month.
The state ranks 46th in annual household income, which is one of the reasons home prices are sluggish nationwide.
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Nevada
- tax rate: 0.59%
- Median home price: $232,400
- Average annual property taxes: $1,369.60
In addition to low property tax rates and home assessed values, Nevada residents don’t have to pay state income tax, which means more money in your monthly budget to cover housing costs.
Nevada residents have a relatively high average income, ranking 23rd in the country according to U.S. News and World Report, which makes housing more affordable in the state.
Arkansas
- tax rate: 0.64%
- Median home price: $179,800
- Average annual property taxes: $1,154.52
Homes in Arkansas are among the most affordable in the country, with the median price tag below $180,000, and while property tax rates are a bit higher than some states, they’re far below the national average of 1.10%, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
U.S. News & World Report ranks Arkansas as the least expensive state in the country overall, so it’s no surprise that home and property tax rates are affordable.
Utah
- tax rate: 0.57%
- Median home price: $275,400
- Average annual property taxes: $1,570.69
Utah’s property tax rate is about half the national average of 1.10%, and home prices are still well below the U.S. median. As a result, you’ll only need to save about $131 per month if you want to pay your annual property taxes.
According to U.S. News and World Report, Utah ranks 9th in the country for median household income, making housing very affordable for state residents.
Incidentally, the USNWR also ranked Utah #1 for “best overall state,” so it boasts an extremely high quality of life.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 7 States with Cheap Housing Markets and Low Property Taxes
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