Small-town living isn’t always cheaper than urban life. In fact, in some burgs, residents may find it to be less expensive to live in a major metro area.
Vineyard Haven, Mass., and Summit Park, Utah, are the two most expensive small towns in the U.S., according to a new study by LendingTree. In Vineyard Haven, the median home value is $674,600; in Summit Park, it’s $558,300. However, researchers found that the majority of residents who live in some of the priciest towns tend to make an income that is well under the national household average. Renting and owning are both out of reach for the median income earners in 42 of the 50 towns analyzed in the study.
LendingTree researchers ranked the 50 towns in the U.S. with the most expensive median home values. They also evaluated the median income needed in those towns to attain homeownership for the average person living there. Many of the priciest towns are near natural attractions, such as mountains and oceans.
Source: “The Top 50 Most Expensive Towns in America,” LendingTree (Aug. 15, 2019)
