Austin-Round Rock, Texas, is the best metropolitan area for first-time homebuyers, factoring in affordability, job market, wellness and culture.

This is according to Bankrate.com’s annual study of major metropolitan statistical areas in U.S., which also took into consideration each local real estate market.

Kansas City, Missouri, is the second-best greater metro area for first-time homebuyers; followed by Raleigh, N.C., Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota; and Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Austin scored first in job market, second in market tightness, and sixth in wellness and culture. These factors elevated Austin-Round Rock to the No. 1 spot, despite it scoring 35^th place in affordability.

Texas & Florida Desirable

In fact, six of the 10 best metro areas for first-time homebuyers are either in Texas, Florida or Missouri.

Other high-ranking metro areas are: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington; Orlando, Florida; St. Louis, Missouri; and Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Indiana.

“The pandemic-driven housing boom sent home values soaring, and it intensified the affordability gap between low-priced and high-priced metro areas,” says Bankrate.com analyst Jeff Ostrowski. “But now that virtual workplaces are standard for white-collar employees, it’s possible to take your big-city income to a less expensive part of the country.

“Texas and Florida have been attracting an influx of new residents,” Ostrowski continues. “From April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022, the two states saw their combined populations grow by more than 1.5 million residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.”

Austin, home to Tesla, has also “experienced a boom in tech jobs,” Ostrowski says. “As a result, the metro area’s incomes are the highest in Texas. The city also is home to the University of Texas and a thriving music scene.”

The Bottom 5

Bankrate.com’s worst metropolitan areas for first-time homebuyers, with No. 50, the worst, listed first, are:

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Boston Cambridge-Nashua
New York-Newark-Jersey City
San Diego-Carlsbad
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California