The 15 Best U.S. Suburbs to Buy Your First Home

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If you’re looking to buy your first home, finding a great suburb is a good first step. Some suburbs have ideal conditions for first-time home buyers and have a high quality of life. Out of the 78 biggest cities in the U.S., 580 suburbs were compared to find the best ones.

The climate risk, dining available, entertainment, home inventory, job market, and home affordability were all considered to find the top places to buy. According to Today’s Homeowner, these are the best suburbs in the country for buying a first home.

Bel Air, Maryland

Baltimore Maryland MD Inner Harbor Skyline Aerial.
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A suburb of Baltimore, this town has a high score for both livability and affordability. There’s plenty to do in this town that’s so close to the big city, and there are a lot of homes to choose from.

Fort Mill, South Carolina

Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States - 18 Feb 2024: Market Place building that houses McAlister's Deli on Market street in Baxter Village.
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This town is a suburb of Charlotte and has a lot going for it. It’s ranked at the very top for livability out of all the suburbs ranked. It also has quite a lot of home inventory on the market.

Auburn, Indiana

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA – APRIL 20: City skyline on April 20, 2008 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Includes the Allen County Courthouse, completed in 1902.
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As a suburb of Fort Wayne, Auburn has a very high ranking for its affordability. It could have more jobs available, but it has a high level of livability. It also has a lot of inventory available to buyers.

Mequon, Wisconsin

Aerial Drone Milwaukee Marina Wisconsin.
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This is a suburb of Milwaukee. It isn’t as affordable as it could be, but it does rank well for its livability. It also has a high ranking for the many jobs available in the area.

Newton, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas, USA downtown skyline at dusk.
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This city sits just outside Wichita. Its ranking for affordability is high, though it could have more jobs available. It does have a lot of homes on the market, and it has a high degree of livability.

North Platte, Nebraska

Aerial panorama of Lincoln, Nebraska under a dramatic sunset. Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County
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This suburb of Lincoln doesn’t have a ton of jobs, but it is highly affordable. It also ranks well for the amount of homes on the market and the livability of the town. It’s a great place to buy a home.

Pickerington, Ohio

View of downtown Columbus Ohio Skyline at Sunset.
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This suburb of Columbus has one of the highest rankings for livability. It has a great quality of life as well having a lot of home inventory on the market. It’s a great place to live and work.

Waunakee, Wisconsin

State Street in Madison. An excellent view of Wisconsin's State Capitol and the Orpheum theater.
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As a suburb of Madison, this town has a lot of inventory on the market, although the affordability isn’t that high. It has good livability and one of the best rankings of any suburb for all the jobs in the area.

Andover, Kansas

Andover. Kansas. USA on a map
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Another suburb of Wichita, this town has a very high score for livability. It also has a very good ranking for the amount of home inventory available, and it has a lot of available jobs.

Zionsville, Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA skyline over Soliders' and Sailors' Monument at dusk.
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This is a quiet suburb of Indianapolis that has the second-highest livability score of all the suburbs ranked. It also has an enormous amount of jobs available, making it an ideal place to buy a first home.

Leander, Texas

Austin Texas USA sunrise skyline cityscape over Town Lake or Lady Bird Lake with amazing reflection. Skyscrapers and Texas capital building in distance you can see the entire city during summer.
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This Austin suburb has a high degree of livability with plenty to see and do. It also has a good number of homes on the market and an enormous number of jobs in the area.

Brentwood, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee, USA downtown skyline on the Cumberland River.
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A suburb of Nashville, this town has an extremely high ranking for livability. It’s also one of the best-ranked suburbs for job opportunities, though the price of homes is a big high.

Hastings, Nebraska

Hastings. Nebraska. USA on a map.
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This suburb of Lincoln is a highly affordable area that has the benefit of a high ranking for its livability as well. It could have more inventory on the market, but there are a lot of jobs in the area.

Indian Trail, North Carolina

charlotte north carolina skyline
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In this suburb of Charlotte, the degree of livability is high. There’s a lot to do, and there is also a high degree of affordability. First-time buyers also benefit from the many local jobs.

Wabash, Indiana

Wabash, Indiana, USA - August 22, 2021: The business district on Wabash Street
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A Fort Wayne suburb, this town has a very high ranking for its affordability. It also has an enormous amount of inventory on the housing market, giving buyers plenty of choices.

The 21 Worst Run Cities in America

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Finding the right place to live is challenging for most Americans, with an estimated 28 million people moving in 2021 alone. When looking to settle down, people look for areas with great jobs, fun things to do, accessible public transport, and safe places to raise a family.

Across the country, there are great cities and horrible cities, with the ones on this list the worst run in America.

The 21 Worst Run Cities in America

The 15 Countries That Have More Filthy Rich People Than Others

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There are rich people around the world, but there are some areas that have more wealthy residents than others. When looking at how many millionaires there are in each country, it isn’t even remotely even.

There are major wealth centers in certain countries that represent far more wealth than exists in other areas. It’s amazing how many millionaires there are; this is where they’re located.

The 15 Countries That Have More Filthy Rich People Than Others

The 15 States Bursting at the Seams With People

Farming and cultivations in Latin America. Portrait of middle aged hispanic farmer sitting proud in his tractor at sunset, holding the steering wheel. He looks at the camera and smiles happy.
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Some states have a high population density and many population centers. Others are mostly rural and may have little population. The difference between the top and bottom states in terms of population is enormous.

According to World Population Review, these are the top 15 states for population.

The 15 States Bursting at the Seams With People

15 Countries That You Will Probably Regret Traveling To

 

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There are some countries where the majority of visitors love their experience. However, there are other countries that people come back from and never recommend to anyone. These countries often have circumstances that make the trip miserable so that visitors can’t wait to leave and go home.

15 Countries That You Will Probably Regret Traveling To

The 15 Poorest Cities in America

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When it comes to cities in America, huge disparities exist. Some are doing much better financially than others. There are a lot of cities today that are struggling economically and coming up short in a few areas.

The 15 Poorest Cities in America

 

Author: Lizz Shepherd

Bio:

Lizz Shepherd is a freelance writer living in Alabama.

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