Looking for a new home? Texas has three of the top five overall real estate markets, a new WalletHub study suggests.
Frisco, Texas, tops WalletHub’s list of Best Real Estate Markets, with McKinney, Texas, at No. 2, and Denton, Texas, at No. 5. All of those cities are classified as midsize cities in the WalletHub’s listing.
Don’t overlook North Carolina, which landed Durham, Raleigh and Charlotte in the top 20. Charlotte, North Carolina, which ranked No. 9 overall, took the top spot among larger cities (population 300,000 or more).
To create its list, WalletHub compared 300 U.S. cities of various sizes across 17 key indicators, including median home-price appreciation, housing affordability and job growth.
“Current home prices are extremely important, but there’s much more that you need to look at when determining the health of a city’s real estate market,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo in a statement accompanying the report.
Boosting the Texas cities of Frisco and McKinney is that both have a high percentage of newer homes, built between 2010 and 2024, according to the report. Frisco rates high for affordability and job growth. McKinney also has a good job market and is continuing to build with the 10th-highest number of building permits per capita, WalletHub found.
“Factors like the cost of living, the potential for the value of homes to increase, the availability of recently-built homes and the quality of the city’s job market are all important to consider in conjunction with asking prices and interest rates,” WalletHub’s Lupo said. “The best cities may not always be the cheapest, but they offer excellent housing options and long-term stability.”
WalletHub’s top U.S. real estate markets
| Overall Rank | City | Total Score | Real-Estate Market Rank | Affordability & Economic Environment Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frisco, TX | 70.72 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | McKinney, TX | 69.83 | 5 | 3 |
| 3 | Murfreesboro, TN | 68.97 | 3 | 13 |
| 4 | Durham, NC | 68.34 | 1 | 39 |
| 5 | Denton, TX | 68.08 | 6 | 22 |
| 6 | Cary, NC | 67.6 | 7 | 17 |
| 7 | Madison, WI | 66.97 | 4 | 86 |
| 8 | Allen, TX | 65.3 | 14 | 11 |
| 9 | Charlotte, NC | 64.62 | 9 | 60 |
| 10 | Irvine, CA | 64.28 | 8 | 85 |
| 11 | Charleston, SC | 63.49 | 21 | 25 |
| 12 | Roseville, CA | 63.46 | 25 | 18 |
| 13 | Gilbert, AZ | 63.41 | 33 | 7 |
| 14 | Salt Lake City, UT | 63.4 | 15 | 58 |
| 15 | Knoxville, TN | 63.33 | 17 | 50 |
| 16 | Richardson, TX | 63.23 | 13 | 84 |
| 17 | Stamford, CT | 63.15 | 10 | 152 |
| 18 | Jersey City, NJ | 62.93 | 18 | 56 |
| 19 | Raleigh, NC | 62.75 | 20 | 55 |
| 20 | Henderson, NV | 62.45 | 39 | 12 |
To make its list of the top U.S. real estate markets, WalletHub used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Zillow, National Association of Realtors and other sources to take into account factors including home price appreciation, median days homes were on the market, housing and maintenance affordability, job growth rate, unemployment rate, foreclosure rates, and vacancy rates. (Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the healthiest housing market.)
To see the full list of 300 cities, go to the WalletHub website.
The 2026 U.S. housing market
Homebuyers currently face a challenging U.S. housing market with high mortgage rates, amid overall economic uncertainty driven by a weakening job market and affordability concerns.
Home prices are at a record high, while the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is holding firm at about the same rate as a year ago. The average rate since 1971 is just under 8%, according to Freddie Mac.
Despite those challenges, it can still be a good time to buy a home. “While mortgage rates are still elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, they are not that high compared to average rates over time. As a quick reminder, mortgage rates peaked around 18% in the early 1980s,” said Martina Schmidt, a professor of instruction at the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance at University of South Florida-St. Petersburg, one of the experts who offered accompanying commentary on WalletHub’s list of real estate markets.
“If a buyer locks in a rate now and the rate falls later, the mortgage can be refinanced. Therefore, negotiating a mortgage without any prepayment penalties is important,” she said. “In summary, it is a good time to buy if a buyer has done some research on local market conditions, is ready and well-qualified, and homeownership is part of a long-term plan.
Top real estate markets among large U.S. cities
WalletHub’s rankings among cities with more than 300,000 residents (score based on scale of 100):
- 1) Charlotte, North Carolina (64.62)
- 2) Irvine, California (64.28)
- 3) Raleigh, North Carolina (62.75)
- 4) Henderson, Nevada (62.45)
- 5) Fort Worth, Texas (62.25)
- 6) Nashville, Tennessee (61.94)
- 7) Seattle, Washington (60.88)
- 8) Austin, Texas (60.84)
- 9) Miami, Florida (60.28)
- 10) Columbus, Ohio (59.77)
Top real estate markets among medium-sized cities
WalletHub’s rankings among cities with 150,000 to 300,000 residents:
- 1) Frisco, Texas (70.72)
- 2) McKinney, Texas (69.83)
- 3) Murfreesboro, Tennessee (68.97)
- 4) Durham, North Carolina (68.34)
- 5) Denton, Texas (68.08)
- 6) Cary, North Carolina (67.60)
- 7) Madison, Wisconsin (66.97)
- 8) Charleston, South Carolina (63.49)
- 9) Roseville, California (63.46)
- 10) Gilbert, Arizona (63.41)
Top real estate markets among small cities
WalletHub’s rankings among cities with fewer than 150,000 residents:
- 1) Allen, Texas (65.30)
- 2) Richardson, Texas (63.23)
- 3) Stamford, Connecticut (63.15)
- 4) Carrollton, Texas (62.32)
- 5) North Charleston, South Carolina (61.68)
- 6) Santa Clara, California (61.03)
- 7) Wilmington, North Carolina (60.93)
- 8) Clovis, California (60.83)
- 9) Longmont, Colorado (60.66)
- 10) Green Bay, Wisconsin (60.46)
Contributing: Medora Lee
Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.