Top school districts to purchase an affordable home

When settling down and starting a family, one of the major questions people ask themselves before buying a home is, “How are the schools in the area?” For many, this consideration is just as important as the home and its price.

To help navigate the murky waters between finding a good school district and finding a home for the right price, Finder analyzed 13,506 school districts and filtered those rated the top score of “A+” on Niche.com’s list of the 2021 Best School Districts in America.

Where are the best school districts?

The Northeast is home to the majority of excellent school districts, with 183 of the top 360 (50.83%) top-rated school districts being located there. Interestingly, the further west you head, the fewer good school districts. The Midwest is home to 90 of the top-rated (25%) schools, the South has 48 (13.33%) and the West holds just 39 (10.83%) of the best school districts.

Where are the best school districts in the most affordable areas?

While the Northeast takes the podium for its overall number of excellent school districts, the South takes home the gold in terms of affordability — a whopping 9 out of the top 10 school districts are located there.

Specifically, three of the best school districts in the nation are located in Alabama, two in Kentucky and one each in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and South Carolina. The non-Southern school district can be found in New York.

At the other end of the spectrum comes the West, which is home to all of the most expensive school districts to buy a home. In fact, California is home to 9 out of the 10 most expensive school districts to buy a home, with Colorado being home to the other.

The top 10 best and most affordable school districts

1. Greeneville City School District — Greenville, TN

• Greeneville City School District in Greeneville, TN serves 2,908 students.
• The average housing costs in the district are $128,100, or 3.73 times the annual household income in the district.
• The median annual household income in the district is $34,307 and the average annual real estate tax paid in the district is $1,129.

2. Saraland City School District — Saraland, AL

• Saraland City School District in Saraland, AL serves 3,114 students.
• The average housing costs in the district are $138,800, or 2.21 times the annual household income in the district.
• The median annual household income in the district is $62,776 and the average annual real estate tax paid in the district is $709.

3. Murray Independent School District — Murray, KY

• Murray Independent School District in Murray, KY serves 1,736 students.
• The average housing costs in the district are $141,216, or 3.52 times the annual household income in the district.
• The median annual household income in the district is $40,119 and the average annual real estate tax paid in the district is $1,271.

4. Muscle Shoals City School District — Muscle Shoals, AL

• Muscle Shoals City School District in Muscle Shoals, AL serves 2,812 students.
• The average housing costs in the district are $143,100, or 2.55 times the annual household income in the district.
• The median annual household income in the district is $56,210 and the average annual real estate tax paid in the district is $542.

5. Greenwood School District — Greenwood, AR

• Greenwood School District in Greenwood, AR serves 3,858 students.
• The average housing costs in the district are $149,800, or 2.52 times the annual household income in the district.
• The median annual household income in the district is $59,472 and the average annual real estate tax paid in the district is $1,017.

6. Petal School District — Petal, MS

• Petal School District in Petal, MS serves 4,137 students.
• The average housing costs in the district are $150,500, or 2.62 times the annual household income in the district.
• The median annual household income in the district is $57,436 and the average annual real estate tax paid in the district is $1,305.

7. Boyle County School District — Danville, KY

• Boyle County School District in Danville, KY serves 2,736 students.
• The average housing costs in the district are $150,600, or 2.82 times the annual household income in the district.
• The median annual household income in the district is $53,376 and the average annual real estate tax paid in the district is $1,247.

8. Hartselle City School District — Hartselle, AL

• Hartselle City School District in Hartselle, AL serves 3,469 students.
• The average housing costs in the district are $156,933, or 2.65 times the annual household income in the district.
• The median annual household income in the district is $59,309 and the average annual real estate tax paid in the district is $512.

9. New Hartford Central School District — New Hartford, NY

• New Hartford Central School District in New Hartford, NY serves 2,586 students.
• The average housing costs in the district are $171,200, or 2.28 times the annual household income in the district.
• The median annual household income in the district is $75,102 and the average annual real estate tax paid in the district is $4,105.

10. Lexington School District 5 — Irmo, SC

• Lexington School District 5 in Irmo, SC serves 17,409 students.
• The average housing costs in the district are $184,594, or 2.49 times the annual household income in the district.
• The median annual household income in the district is $74,065 and the average annual real estate tax paid in the district is $1,129.

Top 10 most affordable school districts

NCES District ID	Rank	School district	Location	Number of students	Median annual household income	Real estate taxes paid	Housing value (max between Census and ZHVI)
4701500	1	Greeneville City School District	Greeneville, TN	2908	$34,307	$1,129	$128,100
0100185	2	Saraland City School District	Saraland, AL	3114	$62,776	$709	$138,800
2104380	3	Murray Independent School District	Murray, KY	1736	$40,119	$1,271	$141,216
0102520	4	Muscle Shoals City School District	Muscle Shoals, AL	2812	$56,210	$542	$143,100
0506990	5	Greenwood School District	Greenwood, AR	3858	$59,472	$1,017	$149,800
2803530	6	Petal School District	Petal, MS	4137	$57,436	$1,305	$150,500
2100630	7	Boyle County School District	Danville, KY	2736	$53,376	$1,247	$150,600
0101730	8	Hartselle City School District	Hartselle, AL	3469	$59,309	$512	$156,933
3620370	9	New Hartford Central School District	New Hartford, NY	2586	$75,102	$4,105	$171,200
4502820	10	Lexington School District 5	Irmo, SC	17409	$74,065	$1,129	$184,594

2020 list of best school districts ranked by housing price

• Best School District to Buy an Affordable Home - Visual
• Best School District to Buy an Affordable Home - Data

Methodology

To determine which school districts were the best, we looked at which school districts were rated the top score of “A+” on Niche.com’s list of the 2021 Best School Districts in America. For each of those top-rated school districts, we looked at median annual household income, average real estate taxes paid, and the median income housing prices in the district to determine which of the best school districts were most affordable.

Median house price data was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) by Zillow where Geography = “Zip Code” for all homes (seasonally adjusted) as of September 30, 2002.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)’s School District Geographic Relationship Files were used to determine which zip codes corresponded with each school district.

House prices by school district was calculated using the ZHVI prices by zip code, weighed by the number of housing units in each zip according to the 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data, making sure that the housing prices were at least the median value of owner-occupied housing by school district.

Real estate tax, median household income, and the median value of owner-occupied housing by school district was sourced from the 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data. Some school districts that were rated “A+” in Niche’s ranking but did not have available data in the ACS were excluded from our analysis.