When purchasing a home, one of the most important factors to consider is neighborhood school quality. Home values increase when they’re near quality schools, so savvy buyers typically search for properties near highly ranked public schools to build long-term equity, according to HomeUnion Research Services.
To assist home buyers in finding great real estate values, HomeUnion analyzed neighborhoods with the most affordable homes and highest-ranked public schools. If home buyers target these zip codes when purchasing assets, their property values could likely increase faster than any other homeowner in their metro area, says Steve Hovland, director of research for HomeUnion.
In May, the National Bureau of Economic Research found that for every dollar spent on public schools in a community, home values increased $20. The study goes on to claim that “additional school expenditures may benefit everyone in the community, whether or not those residents actually have children in the local public school system.”
In an effort to provide buyers with insight on affordability and school quality, HomeUnion analyzed its own website data, as well as data from Maponics, to create a list of the best housing markets for families. “It’s our hope that this information will assist home buyers, who are either looking to invest remotely or raise a family in their home, in finding the highest values for their properties,” explains Steve Hovland, director of research for HomeUnion.
In 1Q 2017, a zip code in Kansas City topped the affordability list with a median home price of $159,700, while a zip code in San Francisco rounded out the bottom of the list with a median price in excess of $1 million.
Here is the list of the 30 best places for families based on housing affordability and school quality:
| Metro | State | Submarket | Zip Code | Schools | Price |
| Kansas City | MO | Blue Springs, Mo. | 64014 | 88.5 | $159,700 |
| Oklahoma City | OK | Tuttle, Okla. | 73170 | 89.6 | $165,000 |
| St. Louis | MO | Fenton, Mo. | 63026 | 81.1 | $167,000 |
| Palm Beach, Fla. | FL | Boca Raton, Fla. | 33496 | 87.9 | $167,500 |
| Chicago | IL | Aurora, Ill. | 60503 | 81.9 | $168,000 |
| Indianapolis | IN | Brownsburg, Ind. | 46112 | 86.3 | $184,100 |
| Cleveland | OH | Broadview Heights, Ohio | 44147 | 87.1 | $200,00 |
| Philadelphia | PA | Horsham, Pa. | 19044 | 84.2 | $217,500 |
| Atlanta | GA | Buford, Ga. | 30519 | 86.5 | $220,00 |
| Columbus | OH | Powell, Ohio | 43065 | 86.1 | $229,500 |
| Houston | TX | Katy, Texas | 77450 | 81.2 | $239,500 |
| Pittsburgh | PA | Cranberry Township, Pa. | 16066 | 83.9 | $274,000 |
| Las Vegas | NV | Summerlin neighborhood | 89144 | 81.9 | $295,000 |
| Jacksonville, Fla. | FL | St. John’s, Fla. | 32259 | 81.6 | $297,000 |
| San Antonio | TX | Cross Mountain, Texas | 78255 | 85.2 | $317,100 |
| Sacramento, Calif. | CA | Rocklin, Calif. | 95677 | 81.5 | $330,500 |
| Charlotte, N.C. | NC | Matthews, N.C. | 28104 | 87.7 | $336,500 |
| Nashville | TN | Thompson’s Station, Tenn. | 37179 | 90.3 | $372,500 |
| Austin | TX | Williamson, Texas | 78717 | 84.9 | $375,000 |
| Denver | CO | Centennial, Colo. | 80122 | 83.3 | $380,000 |
| Portland, Ore. | OR | Lake Oswego, Ore. | 97035 | 87.9 | $417,500 |
| Los Angeles | CA | Valencia, Calif. | 91355 | 82.3 | $480,000 |
| Seattle | WA | North Bend, Wash. | 98045 | 83.3 | $510,000 |
| San Diego | CA | Carmel Mountain Ranch | 92128 | 89.7 | $515,000 |
| Washington, D.C. | MD | Mt. Airy, MD | 21771 | 82.1 | $529,500 |
| Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | FL | Weston, Fla. | 33332 | 93.3 | $567,100 |
| Orange County | CA | University Park | 92612 | 88.6 | $579,000 |
| Oakland, Calif. | CA | Walnut Creek | 94596 | 94.8 | $625,000 |
| San Jose | CA | West San Jose | 95130 | 80.5 | $799,000 |
| San Francisco | CA | San Anselmo, Calif. | 94960 | 86.9 | $1,035,000 |
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