What is the cheapest city to buy a house in Ohio?

Youngstown, with a median closed price of $90,000 over its reporting window, among Ohio cities where Resideline tracked at least 100 closings inside the city limits.

Are these asking prices or sale prices?

Closed sale prices. Every price median is the price homes actually closed at inside the municipal boundary, not a listing price. The one column measured differently is realized appreciation, which uses the postal city, as the note under the table says.

Why does a cheap city show a high price per square foot?

Because the ranking median covers every property type that closed, condos and multi-family included, while the $/sqft column is single-family houses only. In cities where most sales are condos, the median price is low and the house $/sqft can still be high.

Is the appreciation figure a forecast?

No. It is the median annual change between consecutive sales of the same home, on repeat-sale pairs. It is historical and nominal, and it says what happened, not what will.

Cheapest Cities to Buy a House in Ohio (2026)

Every Ohio city below cleared 100 closings in its window and is ranked by the median price homes actually closed at, not the asking price. The columns beside it are the questions that follow a low price: what you pay per square foot, what the same homes did on resale, and how quickly listings go.

The ranking

#	City	Median closed price	Houses $/sqft	Realized appreciation	Days to contract	Closings	Window
1	Youngstown	$90,000	$67	4.61%/yr	28	402	six months
2	Lima	$115,700	$93	4.39%/yr	14	228	six months
3	Canton	$117,450	$92	4.00%/yr	15	590	six months
4	Warren	$118,000	$81	6.35%/yr	14	279	six months
5	Cleveland	$121,000	$84	3.92%/yr	18	2,879	six months
6	Maple Heights	$125,000	$94	n/a	13	166	six months
7	Toledo	$129,900	$106	4.34%/yr	26	2,006	six months
8	Ashtabula	$130,000	$100	3.91%/yr	35	267	12 months
9	Garfield Heights	$130,600	$90	n/a	20	230	six months
10	Dayton	$134,900	$103	4.10%/yr	13	1,124	six months
11	Akron	$135,000	$106	4.02%/yr	16	1,502	six months
12	Alliance	$136,500	$105	4.34%/yr	20	174	six months
13	Marion	$137,000	$103	6.34%/yr	14	301	six months
14	Steubenville	$139,500	$96	n/a	37	234	12 months
15	Springfield	$145,000	$105	3.82%/yr	12	471	six months

1. Youngstown, $90,000

Homes in Youngstown closed at a median of $90,000 over the last six months, about 35 percent of the Ohio statewide median. Resideline tracked 402 closings there, roughly 67 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $67, measured on 357 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 4.61 percent a year (3,601 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home took 28 days to go under contract, across 229 listed closings. Full detail is on the Youngstown market page.

2. Lima, $115,700

Homes in Lima closed at a median of $115,700 over the last six months, about 45 percent of the Ohio statewide median. 228 closings sit behind that figure, about 38 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $93, measured on 217 sales. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 4.39 percent a year between those sales, on 2,257 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 14 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. Full detail is on the Lima market page.

3. Canton, $117,450

The median closed price in Canton is $117,450 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 45 percent of the state figure. Resideline tracked 590 closings there, roughly 98 a month. Single-family houses closed at a median of $92 per square foot across 509 sales with usable living area. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 4.00 percent a year (4,118 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 15 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Canton market page.

4. Warren, $118,000

Homes in Warren closed at a median of $118,000 over the last six months, about 46 percent of the Ohio statewide median. 279 closings sit behind that figure, about 46 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $81 per square foot across 240 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 6.35 percent a year between those sales, on 1,213 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 14 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. About 6.5 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Warren market page.

5. Cleveland, $121,000

Homes in Cleveland closed at a median of $121,000 over the last six months, about 47 percent of the Ohio statewide median. Resideline tracked 2,879 closings there, roughly 480 a month. Single-family houses closed at a median of $84 per square foot across 1,817 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 3.92 percent a year between those sales, on 22,238 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 18 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. About 7.9 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Cleveland market page.

6. Maple Heights, $125,000

The median closed price in Maple Heights is $125,000 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 48 percent of the state figure. Resideline tracked 166 closings there, roughly 28 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $94, measured on 151 sales. The median listed home was under contract in 13 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Maple Heights market page.

7. Toledo, $129,900

Toledo's median closed price over the last six months was $129,900, around 50 percent of what the typical Ohio sale closed at. Resideline tracked 2,006 closings there, roughly 334 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $106, measured on 1,772 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 4.34 percent a year (9,701 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 26 days. About 6.4 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Toledo market page.

8. Ashtabula, $130,000

Ashtabula's median closed price over the last 12 months was $130,000, around 50 percent of what the typical Ohio sale closed at. 267 closings sit behind that figure, about 22 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $100, measured on 229 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 3.91 percent a year (735 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home took 35 days to go under contract, across 155 listed closings. About 6.3 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Ashtabula market page.

9. Garfield Heights, $130,600

The median closed price in Garfield Heights is $130,600 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 50 percent of the state figure. 230 closings sit behind that figure, about 38 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $90 per square foot across 193 sales with usable living area. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 20 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. Full detail is on the Garfield Heights market page.

10. Dayton, $134,900

The median closed price in Dayton is $134,900 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 52 percent of the state figure. 1,124 closings sit behind that figure, about 187 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $103, measured on 931 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 4.10 percent a year (12,511 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 13 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. About 8.1 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Dayton market page.

11. Akron, $135,000

Akron's median closed price over the last six months was $135,000, around 52 percent of what the typical Ohio sale closed at. Resideline tracked 1,502 closings there, roughly 250 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $106, measured on 1,238 sales. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 4.02 percent a year between those sales, on 6,461 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home was under contract in 16 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. About 6.6 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Akron market page.

12. Alliance, $136,500

Homes in Alliance closed at a median of $136,500 over the last six months, about 53 percent of the Ohio statewide median. 174 closings sit behind that figure, about 29 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $105, measured on 159 sales. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 4.34 percent a year between those sales, on 729 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home was under contract in 20 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. About 7.1 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Alliance market page.

13. Marion, $137,000

Marion's median closed price over the last six months was $137,000, around 53 percent of what the typical Ohio sale closed at. 301 closings sit behind that figure, about 50 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $103 per square foot across 267 sales with usable living area. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 6.34 percent a year (740 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 14 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. About 9.2 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Marion market page.

14. Steubenville, $139,500

Homes in Steubenville closed at a median of $139,500 over the last 12 months, about 54 percent of the Ohio statewide median. 234 closings sit behind that figure, about 20 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $96, measured on 193 sales. The median listed home took 37 days to go under contract, across 103 listed closings. Full detail is on the Steubenville market page.

15. Springfield, $145,000

Homes in Springfield closed at a median of $145,000 over the last six months, about 56 percent of the Ohio statewide median. 471 closings sit behind that figure, about 78 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $105 per square foot across 365 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 3.82 percent a year between those sales, on 2,375 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home was under contract in 12 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. About 8.1 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Springfield market page.

Note: realized appreciation is the one column measured on the postal city, from repeat sales of the same home across the ZIP codes that share the city's name; every other figure is confined to the municipal boundary.

How to read this list

A low median is where the analysis starts, not where it ends. Property type, size, condition and block move a number far more than the city line does, so check any address on this list against its own comparable closings.

Figures last updated October 3, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked. Appreciation is the median annual change between consecutive sales of the same home; it is historical, nominal and not a projection.