How much home can you buy with $200,000 in America? The answer varies dramatically depending on where you live.
In Manhattan, the most expensive housing market in the country, that price will only purchase a 125-square-foot closet, according to a new report by PropertyShark. The city has a median price per square foot of $1,585.
San Francisco is close behind: $200,000 would buy a paltry 260 square feet, followed by Boston (371 square feet); San Jose (376); and Washington D.C. (423), according to the study.
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At the other end of the spectrum, that sum would buy a palatial 3,769 square feet in Cleveland – nearly 30 times the buying power of Manhattan. El Paso, Texas is close behind at 3,334 square feet, followed by San Antonio with 3,249 square feet.
San Antonio also experienced more population growth in 2017 than any other city in the country, according to U.S. Census data. The city had an influx of more than 24,200 people last year, the most recent data available.
‘That’s a growth rate of 1.6 percent,’ said Amel Toukabri, a demographer with the U.S. Census bureau, in a statement. ‘This growth was enough to push San Antonio’s population above the 1.5 million mark.’
A number of other cities that saw dramatic population growth last year fell on the more affordable end of the housing spectrum.
The population of Dallas – a city where you can buy 1,824 square feet with $200,000 – grew by 18,935 people last year. Similarly, Columbus, Ohio saw population growth of 15,429 people in 2017, where the same sum can purchase 1,922 square feet.
But some high-cost cities saw significant population growth, too, including Los Angeles, which added 18,600 people in a place where $200,000 will only buy an average of 501 square feet.
Seattle also saw significant growth, with 17,500 people moving to the city, though $200,000 will only get you 525 square feet.
The PropertyShark study combined its own data on median home size with 2016 U.S. Census data on median home price to determine how much space you can buy in each city.