
10 Best Cities for Affordability and Quality of Life in 2026
U.S. News & World Report shared its 2026-2027 Best Places to Live rankings, and for the first time ever, two neighboring Indiana suburbs claimed the top two spots.

U.S. News & World Report shared its 2026-2027 Best Places to Live rankings, and for the first time ever, two neighboring Indiana suburbs claimed the top two spots.

MBA’s December 2025 PAPI shows the national median mortgage payment fell to $2,025 as affordability improved 7.5% year over year for the seventh straight month.

Redfin reports 16.3% of U.S. home-purchase contracts were canceled in December, a record high equal to roughly 40,000 deals.

Zillow’s 2025 market rankings show the most popular cities have home values under $350,000, with Midwest markets dominating this year’s top 10.

Redfin reports U.S. homeowner households fell 0.1% in Q2 2025 to 86.2M, the first decline since 2016, while renter households surged 2.6% to 46.4M.