The Redfin ranking accounts for the share of homes that were affordable for Millennial households earning the metro's median income, with an interest rate of 4.64 percent.
As well, the study assumes a 20 percent down payment from buyers. Most of the cities in the ranking are located in the Midwest and Rust Belt, with Raleigh, N.C. and Hartford, Conn. the exceptions. Hartford ranked fourth, with 85.7 percent of its homes affordable to Millennials and entry-level buyers. The median list price is $249,900, and the median Millennial salary is $76,235. In Raleigh, ranked eleventh, 81.4 percent of the housing stock is affordable for these buyers, National Mortgage News reports.
"Millennials who dream of owning a home will have better luck if they move inland to places like St. Louis, Columbus, and Pittsburgh," Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said in a press release. "These cities used to have economies that relied heavily on manufacturing, and during the recession a lot of young people moved away in search of jobs."
"However, now these cities have more diverse economies based on education, healthcare and technology, and there are open jobs with salaries that are high relative to cost of living. But millennials may want to move as quickly as possible because even in most inland cities the share of homes affordable to the typical millennial is shrinking as housing prices go up," Fairweather said.