(NEXSTAR) – In hopes of saving some money, most people would think you need to leave the city for a small town out in the suburbs. Well, unfortunately, some of those smaller towns don’t offer that luxury.
A new study done by LendingTree has found the most expensive small towns throughout the U.S.
To find this, LendingTree looked at towns with populations ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 and calculated the median home value-to-income ratio of each town. The larger the ratio, the more expensive homes are relative to an area’s median household income.
Landing at the top of the list as the most expensive small town in the country was Nantucket, Massachusetts. With a population of just above 14,000 residents, the average cost of a home in the town is $1,387,000, with the average household income being just below $120,000. By dividing those two numbers, the median home value-to-income ratio of the town sits at 11.58, according ot LendingTree.
Just below Nantucket was another Massachusetts town, Vineyard Haven, with a median home value-to-income ratio of 10.79. Jackson, Wyoming, followed a ratio of 8.95.
Here’s the full list of the 10 most expensive towns to live in in America, according to LendingTree.
| Rank | Small Town | Population | Median Home Value | Median Household Income | Median Value-To-Income Ratio | Metro with Comparable Median Home Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nantucket, MA | 14,299 | $1,387,000 | $119,750 | 11.58 | San Jose, CA |
| 2 | Vineyard Haven, MA | 20,751 | $1,104,100 | $102,348 | 10.79 | San Francisco, CA |
| 3 | Jackson, WY | 35,459 | $954,600 | $106,679 | 8.95 | Los Angeles, CA |
| 4 | Breckenridge, CO | 38,268 | $706,800 | $102,233 | 6.91 | Seattle, WA |
| 5 | Hood River, OR | 23,958 | $571,200 | $82,095 | 6.96 | Denver, CO |
| 6 | Hailey, ID | 31,010 | $544,300 | $81,389 | 6.69 | Washington, DC |
| 7 | Port Townsend, WA | 33,313 | $495,100 | $71,143 | 6.96 | Riverside, CA |
| 8 | Steamboat Springs, CO | 38,248 | $482,300 | $93,984 | 5.13 | Salt Lake City, UT |
| 9 | Ellensburg, WA | 44,736 | $459,900 | $69,928 | 6.58 | Salt Lake City, UT |
| 10 | Los Alamos, NM | 19,374 | $452,500 | $143,188 | 3.16 | Austin, TX |
To see LendingTree’s full study and where a small town near you ranks, check out their website.
