The 10 best and 10 worst states to buy a home in 2026

Realtor.com has ranked all 50 US states and Washington, D.C., based on affordability and new home construction. Maskot/Getty Images Realtor.com ranked all 50 states and DC based on housing affordability and homebuilding. Each state received grades from A to F, with A being the best. The best US states for affordability and new-home construction are largely in the Midwest and South. It's a tough real estate market no matter where you live, but some parts of the US are faring better than others. Realtor.com released its annual housing report card on Monday, grading all 50 states and Washington, DC, from A to F based on how affordable homes are there and how much new housing is being built. Joel Berner, a senior economist at Realtor.com, told Business Insider that homebuilding is an important indicator of a housing ecosystem because it signals how affordable homes will be over time. "Without new homes being built, affordability will suffer under constrained home supply," he said. Once again, the best-performing states — those earning either an A or a B grade — were concentrated mostly in the Midwest and South, regions known for their lower cost of living and abundance of relatively affordable homes. Indiana ranked No. 1, largely because incomes there are relatively high compared with home prices, giving buyers more affordable options. But Berner said the state's "unremarkable" new-home construction could point to affordability problems in the future. At the other end of the ranking, states that received grades between C and F were largely concentrated in the West and New England. Berner said building in these states is often slower and more expensive because of zoning rules, permitting delays, and building codes. As a result, they struggle to compete with states in the middle of the country, where land is cheaper, and building is generally easier. Below are the 10 best and worst states in the US for affordability and homebuilding, according to Realtor.com. Median listing prices and median household incomes for these states are from Realtor.com . Population data for each state is from the US Census Bureau. The 10 best states for homebuilding and affordability A suburban neighborhood. Michael Godek/Getty Images 10. Oklahoma felixmizioznikov/Getty Images Grade: B Median listing price: $299,000 Median Household income: $65,000 Population: 4,123,288 9. Arkansas Eduardo Medrano/Shutterstock Grade: B Median listing price: $300,000 Median Household income: $61,000 Population: 3,114,791 8. South Dakota Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Grade: B Median listing price: $379,000 Median Household income: $77,000 Population: 935,094 7. Delaware Real Window Creative/Shutterstock Grade: B Median listing price: $486,000 Median Household income: $88,000 Population: 1,059,952 6. Nebraska Sean Pavone/Getty Images Grade: B+ Median listing price: $346,000 Median Household income: $77,000 Population: 2,018,006 5. North Carolina Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Grade: B+ Median listing price: $299,000 Median Household income: $65,000 Population: 11,197,968 4. Texas Cavan-Images/Shutterstock Grade: A- Median listing price: $300,000 Median Household income: $61,000 Population: 31,709,821 3. South Carolina Charleston, South Carolina. Grindstone Media Group/Shutterstock Grade: A Median listing price: $379,000 Median Household income: $77,000 Population : 5,570,274 2. Iowa Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Grade: A Median listing price: $486,000 Median Household income: $88,000 Population: 3,238,387 1. Indiana Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Grade: A Median listing price: $346,000 Median Household income: $77,000 Population: 6,973,333 The 10 worst states for homebuilding and affordability An American neighborhood Oleg Breslavtsev/Getty Images 10. New Hampshire Concord, New Hampshire. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Grade: D+ Median listing price: $586,123 Median Household income: $96,809 Population: 1,409,032 9. New Jersey New Jersey. DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images Grade: D Median listing price: $556,344 Median Household income: $99,357 Population: 9,500,851 8. Montana Montana. jimkruger/Getty Images Grade: D Median listing price: $628,387 Median Household income: $72,066 Population: 1,137,233 7. Oregon Oregon. BruceBlock/Getty Images Grade: D- Median listing price: $564,005 Median Household income: $80,356 Population: 4,272,371 6. Connecticut Hartford, Connecticut. Michael Warren/Getty Images Grade: F Median listing price: $518,892 Median Household income: $95,392 Population: 3,675,069 5. California Redwood City, California. halbergman/Getty Images Grade: F Median listing price: $742,305 Median Household income: $95,065 Population: 39,431,263 4. Hawaii Waikiki, Hawaii. Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images Grade: F Median listing price: $767,360 Median Household income: $94,556 Population: 1,446,146 3. Rhode Island Providence, Rhode Island. DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images Grade: F Median listing price: $563,235 Median Household income: $85,698 Population: 1,112,308 2. Massachusetts Boston. xbrchx/Getty Images Grade: F Median listing price: $763,660 Median Household income: $98,170 Population: 7,136,171 1. New York AerialPerspective Images/Getty Images Grade: F Median listing price: $668,173 Median Household income: $82,657 Population: 19,867,248 Read the original article on Business Insider