Everyone’s Moving to the Midwest – And You Should Too

For years, the US real estate market has been dominated by the coasts and major metropolitan areas. Homebuyers spent years looking for homes along the coasts or in places like New York City.

Shortly after what became known as the pandemic era started, more and more people started looking for homes in the Midwest. As work-from-home became the new normal, many people realized that the parts of the United States that used to be called “flyover states” were actually wonderful places to call home.

Now, nearly six years removed from the beginning of the pandemic that reshaped the real estate market, people are still flocking to the Midwest. If you’ve been considering making a move, you may be wondering if you could be happy living in a place that isn’t a short drive from the ocean or near a major urban area like New York or Los Angeles.

Millions of homebuyers chose the Midwest for a reason, and if you’re in the market for a new house, moving to the Midwest may be the right choice for you.

Affordability Without Compromise

If you’ve been looking at new homes in some of the more populated parts of the United States, you may have noticed that even smaller dwellings come with hefty price tags. For example, a three-bedroom house in New York City (even those that aren’t considered luxury properties) can cost up to $1.5 million. Conversely, when you look at three-bedroom homes in multiple parts of the central US, you can find options that cost less than $200,000.

Even if you’ve been looking for a home on the other coast, the prices are higher. The median asking price for a home in San Francisco is $1 million. Midwest real estate offers some great options that are just as nice as many of the homes that you can find along both coasts.

Of course, you’ll need to consider what matters the most to you. Are you looking for a single-family home with plenty of room to entertain guests? If so, you can find more affordable options when house shopping in the central US. With market conditions being what they are, $250,000 in New York City is simply not enough to get you a spacious home. By shopping for homes in the Midwest, you can often find larger homes that offer just as much comfort and quality craftsmanship at a fraction of the price.

Lower price tags in the Midwest don’t equate to fixer-uppers. You can find move-in-ready homes with fenced yards in great neighborhoods without spending seven figures by moving to the Midwest.

Big City Amenities Without Big City Stress

There is a huge misconception surrounding life in the Midwest that says that you have to choose between culture and affordability. Many people assume that if they choose the Midwest as their new home base that they’ll be stuck looking at nothing but cornfields and barns. The truth of the matter is that there are plenty of places in the Midwest that have thriving cultural scenes.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, has a thriving music and arts scene. In addition to a wide array of museums, Minneapolis hosts multiple major concerts every year. The city is also home to multiple professional sports teams. Cleveland, Ohio, which has some pro sports teams of its own, offers waterfront living along Lake Erie and is becoming one of the most popular spots for foodies in the United States.

Speaking of foodie havens, St. Louis, Missouri, is home to one of the most iconic food scenes in the nation. The city also has a huge selection of free museums that are both entertaining and informative. Des Moines, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska, have each turned into popular destinations for young families and tech startups.

With hundreds of cities close to these major Midwestern towns, there are plenty of cultural options that you can enjoy without enduring big city traffic and the chaos that can come with living in a major metropolitan area. If you don’t want to trade culture for affordability, Midwest real estate may be the perfect choice for you.

A Slower Pace Without Forfeiting Opportunity

For years, people flocked to metropolitan hubs like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle because that’s where the jobs were. As we briefly discussed earlier, that began to change with the pandemic, as many of the major companies that have offices in those cities started letting employees work from home. While some companies put an end to remote work in late 2024, many companies realized that they were saving money on overhead by not making employees come to the office.

With this in mind, you no longer have to choose between professional opportunities and an affordable home. When it comes to life in the Midwest, there is less traffic, fewer 90-minute commutes, and much less noise. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t home to people with ambition, though.

In addition to companies that let people work from home, the Midwest is also home to multiple coworking spaces. Additionally, you may be able to buy a home that has enough space for you to set up a designated home office, something that’s very unlikely in larger urban areas.

The Chance to Make New Friends

Making friends is hard, but it’s especially difficult for adults. That’s not just a social commentary. There are scientific studies that back up that statement. As you get older, you spend more time working and fulfilling other responsibilities, which leaves less time for socializing. Even if you occasionally grab drinks with coworkers in the evening, it’s often hard to form real, lasting friendships with people whom you only see at work.

Perhaps it’s because the Midwest comes with a slower pace of life, or maybe it’s because there aren’t millions of people bumping elbows on crowded sidewalks. Whatever the case, it’s easier to form relationships with your neighbors when living in a community than it is when you occasionally see the same person in an elevator in your apartment building.

This isn’t to say that people in large cities aren’t friendly, but the fact remains that people in the Midwest often spend more time talking to their neighbors. If you’re craving a place to call home where you talk to your neighbors and people still look out for one another, buying a home in the Midwest may be the ideal opportunity for you.

Nature, Space, and Room to Grow

Sure, there are some things that you can find in big cities and small Midwestern towns. However, there are some things that you simply cannot find in major metropolitan areas. The Midwest is home to beautiful rolling hills, clear lakes, dense forests, and winding rivers. If you’re a nature lover who enjoys spending time outside hiking, camping, kayaking, or simply walking around, it’s hard to beat some of the options that you’ll find in the Midwest.

Unlike homes in large cities or along the coast, many Midwestern homes come with large yards, meaning you can enjoy some of that natural beauty without ever leaving your property. So, whether you’re looking for a place where you can enjoy a backyard BBQ with friends and family, or you want to go whitewater rafting, consider buying a house in the Midwest.

Real Estate That Builds Wealth

Of all of the world’s millionaires, there’s one type of investment that appears in more than 90% of their portfolios: real estate. No, you may not be able to afford to buy multiple homes in a major urban area, but buying a home is the most proven method of building wealth in the world. Since you can often find homes in the Central US at lower prices than their metropolitan counterparts, you can pay your home off faster by making a few extra payments each year.

This allows you to build equity, which is one of the most important aspects of securing your financial future. In an overvalued housing market (one where prices are high even though quality hasn’t changed), people often become “house poor.” This means that they drop all of their income into monthly mortgage payments, and eventually sell their homes for little to no profit.

Instead of throwing your money at the inflated prices of major metropolitan areas, consider investing in a home that you can own outright. This creates a sense of financial security while also offering you some long-term flexibility.