Starter homes now cost $1 million or more in 233 U.S. cities — nearly triple the number from five years ago.
That’s according to a new Zillow analysis, which shows just how out of reach the housing market has become, especially for first-time buyers.
Zillow defines “cities” as distinct housing markets, which can include large suburbs, towns or boroughs within major metro areas. “Starter homes” are defined as properties in the bottom third of home values within a given market. That means these aren’t luxury listings — they’re the least expensive homes available in each city.
Unsurprisingly, $1 million starter homes are concentrated in states with large urban hubs where land is scarce and housing inventory is limited.
But the trend has spread beyond high-cost metro areas like Los Angeles and New York City — since 2020, states like Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Wyoming have each added a city where typical starter home prices now top $1 million. In the past year, Minnesota and Rhode Island joined the list for the first time as well, bringing the total to 25 states with homes at that price point.
Here are the 10 states with the most cities with $1 million starter homes in 2025:
- California: 113 cities
- New York: 32 cities
- New Jersey: 20 cities
- Florida: 11 cities
- Massachusetts: 11 cities
- Washington: 8 cities
- Texas: 7 cities
- Connecticut: 4 cities
- Hawaii: 4 cities
- Maryland: 4 cities
The pressure on first-time buyers has been building for years, driven by a longstanding housing shortage that worsened when home construction slowed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Home prices have risen by roughly 45% since 2020, according to Zillow’s data.
More recently, rising mortgage rates, climbing insurance premiums and growing homeowners association fees have added even more strain, making homeownership increasingly unaffordable.
With homeownership pricing out buyers, the median age of a first-time buyer hit 38 in 2024 — a record high — while their share of home purchases fell to an all-time low of 24%, according to the National Association of Realtors.
