Virginia's 10 Most Affordable Communities: Report

VIRGINIA — When the American Dream costs a mountain of debt and 60-hour work weeks, it can start to seem more like a nightmare. Fortunately, there are still parts of Virginia that qualify as affordable, according to a new study of the Most Affordable Places to Live in Virginia.

The consumer financial data company SmartAsset concluded that Covington in Alleghany County is the most affordable place to own a home in all of Virginia. The company crunched the numbers on taxes, homeowners’ insurance, and home costs relative to the local median income to come up with the ten most affordable places to buy a home in Virginia.

However, the pandemic changed the way Americans think about where to live, and the nation saw a mass migration of remote workers looking for space to spread out during the pandemic without busting the budget.

According to a Bankrate/YouGov poll, more than 10 percent of Americans moved during the pandemic — mostly to smaller and less dense cities. Roughly a quarter of those who moved said they made their decision because of the pandemic.

Though northern Virginia has a reputation for being an expensive place to live, there are still parts of the state where a person can own a home without spending more than a quarter of their income on housing. However, such places are vanishing.

Still, SmartAsset managed to find ten smaller cities where the American Dream meets affordability. These are places where homeownership costs were lowest relative to the median income in each location.

Covington came in as the state’s most affordable place to live thanks to a low average annual mortgage payment of just over $3,000. With a median income of $40,000, the average resident there can afford to buy a home.

Not surprisingly, the further you get from DC and northern Virginia, the more affordable housing becomes.

In Virginia, the average homeowner pays $508 a year in property taxes, the average annual mortgage payment is $9,019, the average median income is $74,222.

According to SmartAsset, the top 10 most affordable cities in Virginia are:

1. Covington
2. Pulaski
3. Chamberlayne
4. Ettrick
5. Danville
6. Bluefield
7. King George
8. Rockwood
9. Hollins
10. Manchester

The full report, including the methodology, key findings and additional infographics, can be found here.