The 15 Most Expensive Housing Markets in the US

Home prices may have peaked in the summer of 2022, but the most expensive housing markets in the U.S. are still shockingly pricey. 

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index is up 6.29% since April of last year. The 20-city index, which measures only the very largest metro housing markets, is up 7.2% over the same time frame. 

Both indexes are still up about 8.65% and 8.55% respectively over the past three years, however, and experts see mounting evidence that the recent increase in home prices may already be coming to an end. 

After nine months of steadily increasing housing prices in the U.S., price growth has now decreased for the second month in a row according to the Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index,

The bottom line is that despite some recent relief, the most expensive housing markets in the U.S. remain exceedingly costly by historical standards and they aren’t expected to get much cheaper anytime soon. 

To determine what average home prices look like on the ground in the nation’s most expensive housing markets, we turned to the latest data from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). Their cost of living index measures prices in 265 urban areas for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services (such as getting your hair done or going to a movie).

Signs of inflation abound, but home prices are what really stand out. This year the increase slowed greatly. As of the beginning of 2024, the average price of a home in the U.S. came to $508,666, according to C2ER, up from $500,584. 

Most expensive housing markets in the U.S.

That sticker shock is even more salient in a select set of U.S. cities.

With C2ER’s data in hand, we were able to identify the 15 most expensive housing markets in the U.S. — and the premiums home prices command to the national average. (Spoiler alert: the 15 U.S. cities with the highest average home prices have an average home price of $1.34 million, or 2.7 times the national average).

So just how costly do the most expensive housing markets in the U.S. get? Take a closer look at the U.S. cities with the highest average home prices. For good measure, we’ve also included data on median household incomes, average rents, related housing costs and other pertinent information. (For comparison’s sake, here’s a look at the most expensive cities in the U.S., where residents are willing to pay more for everything in exchange for the opportunities the cities offer).