The 10 Worst Places to Buy a Home in 2022

You can make the most of your home by buying in the right city.

There’s no doubt, pinning down the worst places in the U.S. to buy a home in 2022 is subjective. After all, we can look at factors like affordability, crime rate, job opportunities, and local attractions. What we can’t measure is where you will be the happiest living, where you’ll feel most supported and cared for. It’s possible to live in paradise and be miserable without friends or family around. Or you might move to one of the cities on this list, have a job you love, and be surrounded by people who make you smile.

As mentioned, it’s subjective.

This list is based on these factors:

Housing -- median price per square foot: Simply put, some markets are overheated, and buying a home there now puts you at risk of being upside down if and when the market normalizes. (“Upside down” means you owe more on a property than it is worth.)

Job growth: No one can predict the future, but it’s not a good sign if companies are moving out and new companies are not moving in. Buying an inexpensive house in a dying area only works out if you don’t ever plan on selling.

Crime rate: Apart from the physical danger of living in a high-crime area, it’s bad for home values.

Population growth: The more people moving to an area, the more likely real estate values will grow and you'll build equity.

To give you a better sense of what constitutes healthy growth, here are some current national averages:

• Housing, median price per square foot: According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, the average price per square foot nationwide is $198. Nationwide, that makes the average cost of a 2,000 square foot home roughly $396,000.
• Job growth: The national average rate of job growth is 1.01%.
• Crime rate: The U.S. average rate for violent crime is 22.7 (out of 100). For property crime, the national average is 35.4.
• Population growth: A healthy metro area is a growing metro area. Typically, a growth rate of 5% to 7% means a city is attractive to both new businesses and new residents.

In no particular order, here are 10 of the worst places to buy a home in 2022:

1. Corpus Christi, Texas

Housing, median price per square foot: $173

Job growth: 0.3%

Crime rate: Violent crime is ranked at 35. Property crime is 56.

Population growth: 0.57%

It's with good reason the "Sparkling City by the Sea" is such a popular tourist destination. It's scenic and full of rich history. The problem with buying a home in Corpus Christi boils down to dangerously low job growth and how few people are currently interested in moving to the area.

2. San Francisco, California

Housing, median price per square foot: $1,231

Job growth: 1.3%

Crime rate: Violent crime is ranked at 39.6. Property crime is rated at 79.2.

Population growth: 0.15%

San Francisco has an awful lot going for it, including decent job growth. What's barely growing is the number of new people moving to this part of the Bay Area. That's likely due to the prohibitively high cost of living in the area.

3. Buffalo, New York

Housing, median price per square foot: $277

Job growth: 1%

Crime rate: Violent crime is 56.6. Property crime is rated at 61.4.

Population growth: -0.23%

Buffalo is looking pretty good by several measures, including job growth. Two factors that hurt are the crime rate and negative population growth.

4. Anchorage, Alaska

Housing, median price per square foot: $260

Job growth: -0.8%

Crime rate: Violent crime is 50.9. Property crime is rated at 61.8.

Population growth: -0.13%

For anyone who enjoys winter sports, the fact that Anchorage gets 79 inches of snow annually is a legitimate draw. Once there, it could be tough to find a good job though. Both job and population growth are in the basement, while housing costs and the crime rate climb.

5. New Orleans, Louisiana

Housing, median price per square foot: $277

Job growth: 1.4%

Crime rate: Violent crime is rated 49.1. Property crime rate is 56.8.

Population growth: 0.7%

New Orleans is doing great in terms of job growth. Drawbacks include the relative lack of popular growth, high crime rate, and costly housing.

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6. Honolulu, Hawaii

Housing, median price per square foot: $1,284

Job growth: 0.2%

Crime rate: Violent crime is at 17.4. Property crime is 43.4.

Population growth: 0.78%

The idea of moving to Honolulu is enough to make anyone feel a little warmer. The island is gorgeous and the crime rates are low. The issue is that job growth is practically at a standstill and housing prices are through the roof.

7. Chicago, Illinois

Housing, median price per square foot: $268

Job growth: -.02%

Crime rate: Violent crime is 49.9. Property crime is rated at 46.3.

Population growth: 0.27%

With a negative job growth rate and slow trickle of new people moving to the area, it's understandable that Chicago is one of the worst places to purchase a home right now.

8. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Housing, median price per square foot: $122

Job growth: 0.3%

Crime rate: Violent crime is 73.1. Property crime rate is 59.5.

Population growth: 0.35%

Milwaukee is going through a rough patch that includes low job and population growth and a dangerously high violent crime rate.

9. St. Louis, Missouri

Housing, median price per square foot: $143

Job growth: 0.7%

Crime rate: Violent crime is rated 86.8 (22.7 is the U.S. average). Property crime is 85.1. Population growth: 0.23%

It's the crime rate and lack of population growth that lands St. Louis on this list.

10. Virginia Beach, Virginia

Housing, median price per square foot: $192

Job growth: 1.4%

Crime rate: Violent crime is rated 10.5. Property crime is rated 33.2.

Population growth: 0.2%

Virginia Beach barely made the list this year, and it's solely due to the lack of population growth. Few people wanting to move to the area means it could be tough to sell a home when the time comes.

Circumstances change, cities adapt, and chances are there will be an entirely new list of worst places to buy next year.