Real Estate Agents Recommend 3 Midwest Cities Where Buying a Home Will Pay Big Time
The nation’s most popular housing markets are in the Midwest.
According to Zillow data, six Midwestern cities in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana ranked among the 10 most popular housing markets of 2025. For those looking to make a move, the Midwest offers affordable housing, plenty of career prospects and an overall lower cost of living, especially when compared to coastal cities.
We spoke to real estate agents about the hottest midsize Midwestern cities and up-and-coming suburbs that high earners and investors need to watch for opportunities. As a reader bonus, we included the average home value in every city mentioned, as sourced via Zillow.
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Schaumburg, Illinois
Average home value: $341,525
Several Illinois cities that received recognition in Zillow’s most popular housing markets of 2025. Rockford ranked first in the top 10, while Springfield took ninth place, and Lake Forest ranked as the most popular small town in a separate top market analysis.
But ask Mike Opyd, broker at RE/MAX Premier, and you'll get his recommendation for Schaumburg, a suburb just outside of Chicago, as a top city primed for growth. Some of Schaumburg’s biggest draws are its parks, like Bison’s Bluff Nature Playground, Olympic Park and Prairie Park.
“The price in the area is less than most surrounding it, making it ideal to get in before the values take off,” Opyd said.
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Iowa City, Iowa
Average home value: $292,103
Iowa might not have ranked in Zillow’s top 10 markets for 2025, but the Midwestern state’s various suburbs should be on your radar.
Mitch Coluzzi, co-founder and head of construction at real estate brokerage SoldFast, recommends exploring up-and-coming wealthy western Des Moines suburbs, such as Waukee, Johnston, West Des Moines and Iowa City.
The average home value in these suburbs is admittedly more expensive than Des Moines and can cost as much as $393,938 in Johnston, per Zillow. (Iowa City, cited above, is the cheapest of the quartet.) However, Coluzzi said it’s easier to build wealth when the cost of living is so low.
St. Louis
Average home value: $179,917
Bruce Ailion is a Realtor-attorney at RE/MAX Town & Country in Atlanta, Georgia. Ailion told MoneyLion he purchased a condominium in St. Louis five years ago while his son attended Washington University Law School. The purchase was a major market opportunity to save money that would have gone towards expensive rental and dorm housing. It was also much cheaper compared to Atlanta housing.
“The condominium we purchased was a 1,700-square-foot, two-bedroom and two-bathroom, renovated first-floor unit in a historically significant building,” Ailion said, adding that the location was three blocks from the university and light rail mass transit and they paid under $250,000. “A similarly sized and located condo in Atlanta would have been north of $500,000 at that time.”
Ailion said he loved St. Louis and its diversity, unique ethnic neighborhoods and central location to the Mississippi River and Gateway Arch. The low real estate prices were just another terrific incentive.
“The prices were 40% less than in Atlanta, meaning they were probably 80% less than in major coastal gateway cities,” he said. “Low price can often signal opportunity and there is plenty of opportunity in St. Louis.”
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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