Escondido Among Worst Cities For First-Time Homebuyers: Study

ESCONDIDO, CA — Escondido may be one of the worst places for people looking to buy a home for the first time, according to a new study.

The personal finance website WalletHub compared 300 cities of varying sizes across 27 key indicators of affordability, market attractiveness and quality of life. The data set ranged from cost of living to property-crime rate to real-estate taxes.

Tampa, Florida, ranked as the best city for first-time homebuyers, while Berkeley, California, ranked as the worst.

Several cities in San Diego County, including Escondido, rounded out the bottom of the list. Chula Vista came in at 216, San Diego at 221, Carlsbad at 241, Escondido at 253, Vista at 256, Oceanside at 257, and El Cajon at 280.

Best Cities for First-Time Homebuyers

1. Tampa, Florida
2. Overland Park, Kansas
3. Thornton, Colorado
4. Grand Rapids, Michigan
5. Boise, Idaho
6. Greeley, Colorado
7. Peoria, Arizona
8. Arvada, Colorado
9. McKinney, Texas
10. Centennial, Colorado

Worst Cities for First-Time Home Buyers

1. Berkeley, California (300)
2. Detroit, Michigan (299)
3. Santa Barbara, California (298)
4. Oakland, California (297)
5. San Mateo, California (296)
6. Westminster, California (295)
7. Newark, New Jersey (294)
8. El Monte, California (293)
9. Daly City, California (292)
10. Elizabeth, New Jersey (291)

Read the full WalletHub report and methodology.