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.
Top 100
| # | County | State | Monthly if paid off | Median home | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oglala Lakota County | SD | $285 | $45,600 | 0.436% |
| 2 | McDowell County | WV | $309 | $49,200 | 0.565% |
| 3 | Apache County | AZ | $324 | $68,500 | 0.838% |
| 4 | Wolfe County | KY | $326 | $66,400 | 0.589% |
| 5 | Breathitt County | KY | $330 | $61,800 | 0.843% |
| 6 | Harding County | NM | $332 | $86,500 | 0.379% |
| 7 | Sioux County | ND | $335 | $87,400 | 0.469% |
| 8 | Allendale County | SC | $340 | $61,600 | 0.880% |
| 9 | Quay County | NM | $342 | $82,200 | 0.617% |
| 10 | Esmeralda County | NV | $344 | $102,500 | 0.589% |
| 11 | Leslie County | KY | $348 | $74,100 | 0.718% |
| 12 | Cottle County | TX | $349 | $54,100 | 1.152% |
| 13 | Knott County | KY | $349 | $74,600 | 0.718% |
| 14 | Lafayette County | AR | $350 | $74,600 | 0.566% |
| 15 | Webster County | WV | $350 | $78,000 | 0.388% |
| 16 | Marlboro County | SC | $351 | $74,500 | 0.638% |
| 17 | Todd County | SD | $352 | $45,200 | 2.226% |
| 18 | Wheeler County | GA | $352 | $74,600 | 0.753% |
| 19 | Stewart County | GA | $353 | $53,000 | 1.711% |
| 20 | Letcher County | KY | $353 | $70,500 | 0.932% |
| 21 | Tensas Parish | LA | $354 | $80,300 | 0.289% |
| 22 | Lee County | AR | $354 | $77,900 | 0.525% |
| 23 | Wyoming County | WV | $354 | $78,400 | 0.439% |
| 24 | McCreary County | KY | $354 | $77,000 | 0.734% |
| 25 | Benson County | ND | $356 | $83,100 | 0.871% |
| 26 | Fulton County | KY | $356 | $78,100 | 0.720% |
| 27 | Tillman County | OK | $358 | $71,900 | 0.663% |
| 28 | Hudspeth County | TX | $358 | $57,400 | 1.179% |
| 29 | Owsley County | KY | $358 | $79,900 | 0.703% |
| 30 | Buchanan County | VA | $359 | $91,400 | 0.442% |
| 31 | Cochran County | TX | $359 | $57,700 | 1.185% |
| 32 | Phillips County | AR | $359 | $76,200 | 0.656% |
| 33 | Stonewall County | TX | $360 | $54,700 | 1.360% |
| 34 | Dillon County | SC | $360 | $84,400 | 0.504% |
| 35 | Marion County | SC | $361 | $86,800 | 0.457% |
| 36 | Monroe County | AR | $361 | $82,200 | 0.493% |
| 37 | Harlan County | KY | $362 | $73,100 | 0.988% |
| 38 | Wibaux County | MT | $363 | $92,300 | 0.709% |
| 39 | Atkinson County | GA | $363 | $76,300 | 0.883% |
| 40 | Wilcox County | GA | $363 | $71,200 | 1.058% |
| 41 | Claiborne Parish | LA | $364 | $82,400 | 0.369% |
| 42 | McIntosh County | ND | $364 | $80,300 | 1.080% |
| 43 | Bullock County | AL | $365 | $79,400 | 0.389% |
| 44 | Covington city | VA | $365 | $80,200 | 0.784% |
| 45 | Lewis County | KY | $366 | $86,100 | 0.648% |
| 46 | Mingo County | WV | $367 | $85,600 | 0.437% |
| 47 | Bell County | KY | $367 | $83,000 | 0.743% |
| 48 | Gilmer County | WV | $368 | $83,300 | 0.507% |
| 49 | East Carroll Parish | LA | $368 | $87,400 | 0.287% |
| 50 | Lowndes County | AL | $368 | $80,600 | 0.408% |
| 51 | Harmon County | OK | $369 | $75,700 | 0.697% |
| 52 | Grant County | ND | $369 | $85,800 | 0.980% |
| 53 | Catahoula Parish | LA | $369 | $88,000 | 0.292% |
| 54 | Madison Parish | LA | $370 | $90,600 | 0.230% |
| 55 | Jefferson County | OK | $371 | $77,500 | 0.661% |
| 56 | Appling County | GA | $371 | $81,400 | 0.846% |
| 57 | Sumter County | AL | $371 | $84,100 | 0.353% |
| 58 | Nevada County | AR | $371 | $85,700 | 0.539% |
| 59 | Mellette County | SD | $371 | $63,000 | 1.529% |
| 60 | Clay County | KY | $371 | $87,300 | 0.685% |
| 61 | Grant County | OK | $372 | $79,500 | 0.604% |
| 62 | Shelby County | MO | $372 | $86,200 | 0.896% |
| 63 | Wilcox County | AL | $372 | $84,200 | 0.367% |
| 64 | Dunklin County | MO | $372 | $93,800 | 0.694% |
| 65 | Lee County | KY | $372 | $82,100 | 0.848% |
| 66 | Martin County | KY | $373 | $84,900 | 0.774% |
| 67 | Clay County | AR | $375 | $88,100 | 0.521% |
| 68 | St. Francis County | AR | $375 | $87,700 | 0.540% |
| 69 | Jackson County | AR | $376 | $87,300 | 0.564% |
| 70 | Robeson County | NC | $376 | $88,600 | 0.902% |
| 71 | Magoffin County | KY | $376 | $88,300 | 0.728% |
| 72 | Warren County | GA | $376 | $78,000 | 1.031% |
| 73 | Crowley County | CO | $377 | $106,700 | 0.492% |
| 74 | Dickenson County | VA | $377 | $101,100 | 0.498% |
| 75 | Taylor County | GA | $377 | $82,900 | 0.897% |
| 76 | Jenkins County | GA | $378 | $81,100 | 0.958% |
| 77 | Chautauqua County | KS | $378 | $63,300 | 1.599% |
| 78 | Lawrence County | AR | $378 | $91,100 | 0.488% |
| 79 | Guadalupe County | NM | $378 | $107,200 | 0.525% |
| 80 | Perry County | AL | $379 | $87,700 | 0.371% |
| 81 | Taliaferro County | GA | $379 | $73,100 | 1.254% |
| 82 | Prairie County | AR | $380 | $87,500 | 0.616% |
| 83 | Desha County | AR | $381 | $89,100 | 0.580% |
| 84 | Perry County | KY | $381 | $90,700 | 0.729% |
| 85 | West Carroll Parish | LA | $381 | $97,600 | 0.204% |
| 86 | Chicot County | AR | $381 | $90,500 | 0.546% |
| 87 | Lee County | VA | $382 | $98,700 | 0.594% |
| 88 | Slope County | ND | $382 | $121,300 | 0.379% |
| 89 | Bertie County | NC | $382 | $95,800 | 0.797% |
| 90 | Worth County | MO | $382 | $94,600 | 0.801% |
| 91 | Ashley County | AR | $383 | $88,800 | 0.610% |
| 92 | Bienville Parish | LA | $383 | $93,600 | 0.319% |
| 93 | Rolette County | ND | $383 | $93,000 | 0.975% |
| 94 | Hidalgo County | NM | $384 | $114,000 | 0.461% |
| 95 | Greene County | AL | $385 | $86,400 | 0.488% |
| 96 | Chesterfield County | SC | $386 | $101,400 | 0.462% |
| 97 | Dickens County | TX | $387 | $65,000 | 1.366% |
| 98 | Corson County | SD | $387 | $73,800 | 1.337% |
| 99 | Ripley County | MO | $387 | $110,800 | 0.501% |
| 100 | Floyd County | KY | $388 | $93,300 | 0.747% |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 6.66%. 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.