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California ranks as the toughest state for first-time homebuyers for several reasons, including low home affordability (#49), availability (#49) and U-35 homeownership percentage (#49), as well as high millennial unemployment (#41).
Iowa, on the other hand, is the easiest state due in large part to the most affordable home prices in the country. The Hawkeye State also graded highly for U-35 homeownership (#2) and millennial employment (#10). Utah, Minnesota, Kansas and Missouri comprise the rest of the five easiest states for first-time homebuyers.
| Rank | State | Total score | Housing affordability | Job market for young adults | Housing market tightness | Credit availability | Homeownership among millennials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa | 40.32 | 10.00 | 7.55 | 5.60 | 7.53 | 9.64 |
| 2 | Utah | 40.16 | 6.55 | 9.33 | 5.88 | 8.85 | 9.55 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 39.60 | 8.66 | 7.85 | 3.75 | 9.34 | 10.00 |
| 4 | Kansas | 38.11 | 8.18 | 7.67 | 7.02 | 8.33 | 6.91 |
| 5 | Missouri | 38.10 | 8.71 | 6.01 | 8.26 | 7.67 | 7.45 |
| 6 | North Dakota | 37.66 | 8.39 | 10.00 | 4.14 | 8.31 | 6.82 |
| 7 | South Dakota | 37.50 | 8.21 | 9.48 | 2.31 | 8.73 | 8.77 |
| 8 | Wyoming | 36.91 | 7.94 | 7.70 | 4.59 | 8.12 | 8.57 |
| 9 | Vermont | 36.34 | 8.51 | 7.82 | 8.55 | 6.00 | 5.46 |
| 10 | Nebraska | 36.33 | 9.68 | 8.71 | 1.65 | 8.95 | 7.33 |
| 11 | Idaho | 36.32 | 6.78 | 6.26 | 7.90 | 7.73 | 7.66 |
| 12 | Indiana | 35.92 | 9.23 | 4.29 | 6.65 | 7.56 | 8.19 |
| 13 | Montana | 35.51 | 5.86 | 6.66 | 9.11 | 8.19 | 5.69 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 35.18 | 9.41 | 6.07 | 7.07 | 5.60 | 7.02 |
| 15 | Alaska | 34.70 | 7.22 | 3.59 | 8.12 | 10.00 | 5.77 |
| 16 | New Hampshire | 34.68 | 8.42 | 8.65 | 4.36 | 6.11 | 7.14 |
| 17 | Michigan | 34.61 | 9.65 | 3.13 | 7.24 | 6.19 | 8.40 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 34.51 | 9.73 | 4.85 | 6.47 | 6.79 | 6.66 |
| 19 | Ohio | 34.10 | 9.95 | 5.31 | 5.25 | 7.32 | 6.27 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | 34.05 | 9.28 | 4.02 | 6.04 | 7.48 | 7.23 |
| 21 | Illinois | 33.78 | 9.08 | 4.23 | 7.23 | 6.91 | 6.33 |
| 22 | Delaware | 33.52 | 7.06 | 4.48 | 6.92 | 7.33 | 7.73 |
| 23 | Arkansas | 33.31 | 8.64 | 5.46 | 8.81 | 3.89 | 6.51 |
| 24 | Arizona | 33.25 | 6.52 | 4.85 | 9.31 | 7.98 | 4.59 |
| 25 | Maryland | 32.52 | 7.96 | 5.12 | 5.08 | 7.98 | 6.37 |
| 26 | Virginia | 32.04 | 7.12 | 6.13 | 5.06 | 8.30 | 5.43 |
| 27 | Connecticut | 31.88 | 8.39 | 2.48 | 8.30 | 7.47 | 5.24 |
| 28 | Maine | 31.80 | 7.32 | 3.96 | 7.74 | 5.10 | 7.68 |
| 29 | Tennessee | 30.85 | 8.16 | 3.44 | 7.02 | 5.87 | 6.37 |
| 30 | North Carolina | 29.42 | 7.19 | 3.68 | 7.04 | 6.36 | 5.14 |
| 31 | New Jersey | 29.11 | 7.52 | 4.11 | 6.24 | 6.82 | 4.42 |
| 32 | Alabama | 29.06 | 8.57 | 0.00 | 9.84 | 3.43 | 7.22 |
| 33 | Georgia | 28.81 | 7.81 | 2.30 | 7.59 | 6.30 | 4.81 |
| 34 | Kentucky | 28.52 | 9.20 | 3.65 | 5.38 | 2.75 | 7.54 |
| 35 | New Mexico | 28.28 | 6.57 | 1.81 | 10.00 | 3.25 | 6.64 |
| 36 | Washington | 27.66 | 5.55 | 5.34 | 5.00 | 7.91 | 3.85 |
| 37 | Florida | 27.42 | 7.00 | 4.14 | 8.79 | 3.73 | 3.76 |
| 38 | Nevada | 27.02 | 6.11 | 2.67 | 7.21 | 7.28 | 3.76 |
| 39 | South Carolina | 26.55 | 7.34 | 2.73 | 6.47 | 3.28 | 6.73 |
| 40 | West Virginia | 26.29 | 9.86 | 1.35 | 6.67 | 0.00 | 8.42 |
| 41 | Massachusetts | 26.06 | 5.99 | 6.17 | 1.96 | 8.65 | 3.30 |
| 42 | Oregon | 25.76 | 4.56 | 5.28 | 4.83 | 8.55 | 2.55 |
| 43 | Colorado | 25.71 | 5.00 | 6.93 | 0.00 | 8.47 | 5.31 |
| 44 | Texas | 25.33 | 6.92 | 5.95 | 1.66 | 6.18 | 4.62 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 25.18 | 7.00 | 1.84 | 5.22 | 7.94 | 3.17 |
| 46 | Mississippi | 24.56 | 5.89 | 2.18 | 8.19 | 1.13 | 7.17 |
| 47 | Louisiana | 23.96 | 8.11 | 3.28 | 3.18 | 2.69 | 6.70 |
| 48 | New York | 23.12 | 6.88 | 4.29 | 4.78 | 5.84 | 1.33 |
| 49 | Hawaii | 20.16 | 0.00 | 7.33 | 4.59 | 8.24 | 0.00 |
| 50 | California | 13.67 | 1.25 | 2.76 | 1.25 | 7.23 | 1.17 |