With summer just around the proverbial corner, the data analysts at Realtor.com paid tribute to the sun-and-sand crowd with their 2024 edition of the Most Affordable Beach Towns in America list.
Pascagoula, Mississippi, topped the rankings thanks to a housing market with a median list price of $164,900. This was the only location on the list where the median list price was under $200,000.
“Water lovers on a budget may want to check out No. 1 ranked Pascagoula, Mississippi,” said Keith Griffith, a journalist at Realtor.com. “It’s located off of two major waterways: the Gulf of Mexico and the Pascagoula River and offers a lot of fun outdoor activities from fishing off the pier, to kayaking in its unimpeded river system, to an annual summer music festival. Pascagoula is also home to Chevron’s largest refinery and Ingalls Shipbuilding, which is Mississippi’s largest manufacturing employer, indicating the great mix between work and play that makes the beach town an attractive place to live.”
Rounding out the list’s top five were Atlantic City, New Jersey (median list price: $239,000), Deerfield Beach, Florida (median list price: $239,950), Dennis Port, Massachusetts (median list price: $277,500), and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (median list price: $299,500).
Realtor.com noted that its rankings were based on the “median listing prices in March for single-family homes, including condominiums but excluding mobile homes. Only cities with at least 25 active listings for the month were included, to ensure adequate inventory. To make the final list, these beach towns had to include a sandy, public access ocean beach within the city limits. Cities on the coast of estuaries, such as inland bays and sounds, were excluded from this year’s rankings. Finally, to ensure geographic diversity, we have only included the single most affordable beach town per state in the top 10 ranking.”
