Here are 12 affordable suburbs near unaffordable cities

You may not have heard of Medley, Fla., or Moonachie, N.J., or Huntingtown, Md. They are unsung suburbs of expensive cities: Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. 

A new analysis by Point2, the online real estate marketplace, ranks hundreds of suburbs with more affordable housing than the cities they adjoin.  

The report considered 777 suburbs near 20 large, pricey cities and found that 603 had lower prices per square foot than the respective cities.  

Of the 100 most affordable suburbs, 95 sit outside four East Coast cities: New York, D.C., Boston and Miami. 

Suburbs, of course, are supposed to be affordable. The suburban boom that followed World War II was partly about space: a detached home with a garage and a yard, for the same money one might have paid for an attached home with a thimble-sized yard in the city. 

“People were looking for more home for the value,” said Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi, a sister company to Point2.   

In the decades since, some American suburbs have acquired a currency all their own. The Point2 analysis found 18 suburbs where housing prices are more than twice as high per square foot as in their cities: almost four times higher, in the case of Sullivan’s Island, a suburb of Charleston, S.C.  

But those are exceptions: In hot real estate markets, suburbs generally provide more value than the cities they surround. Here are a dozen affordable suburbs, one each for 12 of the nation’s priciest cities. 

Medley, Fla. 

Medley is a tiny community northwest of Miami and named for its founder, a farmer named Sylvester Medley. Overshadowed by the likes of Miami Beach and Coral Gables, Medley is uniquely affordable. Houses cost $154 per square foot, compared to $445 in Miami. 

Huntingtown, Md.

Once home to famed author Tom Clancy, Huntingtown sits in Calvert County and enjoys views of the Chesapeake Bay. It might qualify more as an exurb than a classic suburb, as the drive to downtown D.C. spans about 40 miles and can take more than an hour. Housing costs $190 per square foot, compared to $501 in the District. 

Moonachie, NJ 

Ed Koch, the long-ago mayor of New York City, once quipped that the New York Giants should hold their Super Bowl victory parade in Moonachie, because the team played in New Jersey. Moonachie, pronounced moo-NAH-kee, sits in Bergen County, about a dozen miles from central Gotham. Houses cost $226 per square foot, compared to $588 in the city. 

Boulevard Park, Wash. 

Roughly 10 miles from downtown Seattle, Boulevard Park barely rates a Wikipedia page. Is it a suburb? A neighborhood? A census-designated place? Hard to tell. At any rate, houses there cost $222 per square foot, compared to $572 in Seattle proper. 

Lawrence, Mass. 

This Boston suburb is a city, and a big one, with a population of about 89,000 in the 2020 census. Set on the Merrimack River, it’s the birthplace of Leonard Bernstein and a childhood residence of Robert Frost. Houses cost $254 per square foot, compared to $641 in Beantown, which sits roughly 30 miles away. 

North Richmond, Calif.

Once a hotbed of postwar blues, North Richmond is now an affordable alternative to nearby Oakland, a city many residents regard as an affordable alternative to San Francisco. It sits within commuting distance of either city. North Richmond housing costs $337 per square foot, compared to $621 in Oakland and $954 in San Francisco. 

Magna, Utah 

This old copper mining center has evolved into a thriving suburb of Salt Lake City, with a cinematic downtown. Housing costs $192 per square foot, versus $345 in Salt Lake City. 

Firestone, Colo. 

This Denver suburb boasts dozens of parks and miles of scenic trails. It sits about 30 miles north of the city. Houses cost $203 per square foot, compared to $355 in Denver. 

Manor, Texas 

An expanding Texas tollway system increased commuter access to Manor, now a fast-growing suburb of Austin, the celebrated boomtown. The cities sit about a dozen miles apart. Housing in Manor costs $187 per square foot, compared to $320 in Austin. 

Gilroy, Calif.

Known for its annual garlic festival, Gilroy sits about 30 miles from downtown San Jose, at the southern end of the greater San Francisco region. At $490 a square foot, houses aren’t cheap, but they’re less expensive than the $812 median price in San Jose. 

Jamul, Calif.

This little-known suburb sits about 20 miles east of central San Diego. A local real estate site terms it “a hidden gem,” set “amidst rolling hills and breathtaking landscapes” in the rugged East County region. Housing costs $397 per square foot, compared to $639 in San Diego. 

Bell Gardens, Calif. 

This anonymous LA suburb sits deep within the Los Angeles County sprawl, neighboring such equally unheralded addresses as Commerce and Downey. California home prices have soared, but Bell Gardens remains relatively affordable, with housing set at $386 per square foot, compared to $612 in Los Angeles.