Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year
Cheapest Counties to Own a Home Outright in America
Paying off a mortgage does not end the cost of a house. This ranks counties by what the median home still costs every month with no loan at all: property tax, insurance, electricity, water and maintenance. Nowhere in America is it zero.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
Top 100
| # | County | State | Monthly if paid off | Median home | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oglala Lakota County | SD | $296 | $45,600 | 0.436% |
| 2 | Harding County | NM | $311 | $86,500 | 0.379% |
| 3 | Quay County | NM | $320 | $82,200 | 0.617% |
| 4 | McDowell County | WV | $320 | $49,200 | 0.565% |
| 5 | Kusilvak Census Area | AK | $331 | $72,700 | 0.274% |
| 6 | Wolfe County | KY | $335 | $66,400 | 0.589% |
| 7 | Breathitt County | KY | $340 | $61,800 | 0.843% |
| 8 | Esmeralda County | NV | $340 | $102,500 | 0.589% |
| 9 | Crowley County | CO | $346 | $106,700 | 0.492% |
| 10 | Sioux County | ND | $350 | $87,400 | 0.469% |
| 11 | Apache County | AZ | $353 | $68,500 | 0.838% |
| 12 | Alexander County | IL | $354 | $58,700 | 1.646% |
| 13 | Pulaski County | IL | $356 | $81,000 | 0.825% |
| 14 | Guadalupe County | NM | $356 | $107,200 | 0.525% |
| 15 | Allendale County | SC | $357 | $61,600 | 0.880% |
| 16 | Leslie County | KY | $358 | $74,100 | 0.718% |
| 17 | Knott County | KY | $359 | $74,600 | 0.718% |
| 18 | Wibaux County | MT | $359 | $92,300 | 0.709% |
| 19 | Baca County | CO | $361 | $122,000 | 0.407% |
| 20 | Webster County | WV | $361 | $78,000 | 0.388% |
| 21 | Hidalgo County | NM | $362 | $114,000 | 0.461% |
| 22 | Todd County | SD | $363 | $45,200 | 2.226% |
| 23 | Letcher County | KY | $363 | $70,500 | 0.932% |
| 24 | McCreary County | KY | $364 | $77,000 | 0.734% |
| 25 | Wyoming County | WV | $365 | $78,400 | 0.439% |
| 26 | Fulton County | KY | $366 | $78,100 | 0.720% |
| 27 | Owsley County | KY | $368 | $79,900 | 0.703% |
| 28 | Marlboro County | SC | $368 | $74,500 | 0.638% |
| 29 | Luna County | NM | $370 | $112,500 | 0.576% |
| 30 | Benson County | ND | $371 | $83,100 | 0.871% |
| 31 | Lafayette County | AR | $371 | $74,600 | 0.566% |
| 32 | Harlan County | KY | $372 | $73,100 | 0.988% |
| 33 | Cottle County | TX | $375 | $54,100 | 1.152% |
| 34 | Lee County | AR | $375 | $77,900 | 0.525% |
| 35 | Chautauqua County | KS | $376 | $63,300 | 1.599% |
| 36 | Lewis County | KY | $376 | $86,100 | 0.648% |
| 37 | Bell County | KY | $377 | $83,000 | 0.743% |
| 38 | Dillon County | SC | $377 | $84,400 | 0.504% |
| 39 | Marion County | SC | $378 | $86,800 | 0.457% |
| 40 | Mingo County | WV | $378 | $85,600 | 0.437% |
| 41 | McKinley County | NM | $378 | $72,100 | 1.889% |
| 42 | Gilmer County | WV | $379 | $83,300 | 0.507% |
| 43 | Mora County | NM | $379 | $119,900 | 0.535% |
| 44 | Tensas Parish | LA | $380 | $80,300 | 0.289% |
| 45 | McIntosh County | ND | $380 | $80,300 | 1.080% |
| 46 | Phillips County | AR | $380 | $76,200 | 0.656% |
| 47 | Clay County | KY | $381 | $87,300 | 0.685% |
| 48 | Buchanan County | VA | $381 | $91,400 | 0.442% |
| 49 | Monroe County | AR | $382 | $82,200 | 0.493% |
| 50 | Bent County | CO | $382 | $137,900 | 0.386% |
| 51 | Lee County | KY | $382 | $82,100 | 0.848% |
| 52 | Mellette County | SD | $382 | $63,000 | 1.529% |
| 53 | Martin County | KY | $383 | $84,900 | 0.774% |
| 54 | Wheeler County | GA | $384 | $74,600 | 0.753% |
| 55 | Hudspeth County | TX | $384 | $57,400 | 1.179% |
| 56 | Grant County | ND | $384 | $85,800 | 0.980% |
| 57 | Cochran County | TX | $385 | $57,700 | 1.185% |
| 58 | Stewart County | GA | $385 | $53,000 | 1.711% |
| 59 | Stonewall County | TX | $386 | $54,700 | 1.360% |
| 60 | Magoffin County | KY | $386 | $88,300 | 0.728% |
| 61 | Covington city | VA | $388 | $80,200 | 0.784% |
| 62 | Elk County | KS | $389 | $60,900 | 1.989% |
| 63 | Claiborne Parish | LA | $389 | $82,400 | 0.369% |
| 64 | Perry County | KY | $391 | $90,700 | 0.729% |
| 65 | Jewell County | KS | $392 | $62,100 | 1.968% |
| 66 | Nevada County | AR | $392 | $85,700 | 0.539% |
| 67 | Tillman County | OK | $392 | $71,900 | 0.663% |
| 68 | Prowers County | CO | $393 | $150,900 | 0.327% |
| 69 | East Carroll Parish | LA | $394 | $87,400 | 0.287% |
| 70 | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | AK | $394 | $87,800 | 0.862% |
| 71 | Robeson County | NC | $394 | $88,600 | 0.902% |
| 72 | Catahoula Parish | LA | $395 | $88,000 | 0.292% |
| 73 | Edwards County | KS | $395 | $70,500 | 1.593% |
| 74 | Madison Parish | LA | $396 | $90,600 | 0.230% |
| 75 | Roosevelt County | NM | $396 | $136,000 | 0.436% |
| 76 | Atkinson County | GA | $396 | $76,300 | 0.883% |
| 77 | Clay County | AR | $396 | $88,100 | 0.521% |
| 78 | Wilcox County | GA | $396 | $71,200 | 1.058% |
| 79 | St. Francis County | AR | $396 | $87,700 | 0.540% |
| 80 | Jackson County | AR | $397 | $87,300 | 0.564% |
| 81 | Slope County | ND | $397 | $121,300 | 0.379% |
| 82 | Floyd County | KY | $397 | $93,300 | 0.747% |
| 83 | Corson County | SD | $398 | $73,800 | 1.337% |
| 84 | Sedgwick County | CO | $399 | $142,700 | 0.470% |
| 85 | Rolette County | ND | $399 | $93,000 | 0.975% |
| 86 | Lawrence County | AR | $399 | $91,100 | 0.488% |
| 87 | Bertie County | NC | $400 | $95,800 | 0.797% |
| 88 | Dickenson County | VA | $400 | $101,100 | 0.498% |
| 89 | Comanche County | KS | $401 | $59,900 | 2.285% |
| 90 | Elliott County | KY | $401 | $97,400 | 0.689% |
| 91 | Hickman County | KY | $401 | $92,300 | 0.819% |
| 92 | Prairie County | AR | $401 | $87,500 | 0.616% |
| 93 | Bullock County | AL | $402 | $79,400 | 0.389% |
| 94 | Ziebach County | SD | $402 | $101,700 | 0.585% |
| 95 | Boone County | WV | $402 | $90,300 | 0.650% |
| 96 | Desha County | AR | $402 | $89,100 | 0.580% |
| 97 | Dewey County | SD | $402 | $75,400 | 1.338% |
| 98 | Chicot County | AR | $402 | $90,500 | 0.546% |
| 99 | Chesterfield County | SC | $403 | $101,400 | 0.462% |
| 100 | Harmon County | OK | $403 | $75,700 | 0.697% |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Cheapest Counties to Own a Home Outright by state
The same ranking within a single state.
Alabama67Alaska26Arizona15Arkansas75California58Colorado64Florida67Georgia159Idaho44Illinois102Indiana92Iowa99Kansas105Kentucky120Louisiana64Maine16Maryland24Massachusetts14Michigan83Minnesota87Mississippi82Missouri115Montana56Nebraska93Nevada16New Jersey21New Mexico33New York62North Carolina100North Dakota53Ohio88Oklahoma77Oregon36Pennsylvania67South Carolina46South Dakota65Tennessee95Texas250Utah29Vermont14Virginia133Washington39West Virginia55Wisconsin72Wyoming23