How The Providence Area Ranks For First-Time Homebuyers

Rhode Island's cities have been named as a pretty good choice when it comes to first-time homebuying, falling in the middle of a new ranking released Tuesday. The personal finance site Bankrate ranked the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, basing the ranking on 13 measures related to affordability, culture, job market, market tightness and safety.

Providence was ranked first in the country for culture, which is no surprise considering the city's vibrant food and arts scene. It was also named as the fifth-safest metro area in the nation. As for affordability, the state leaves something to be desired, falling in the bottom half of the ranking.

The Providence-Warwick area ranked 22 overall, just ahead of Nashville and behind Baltimore and Philadelphia, which tied for number 20. Here’s how it ranked in each category:

• Affordability: 37
• Culture: 1
• Job market: 37
• Market tightness: 24
• Safety: 5

Bankrate said those thinking of buying their first home ought to skip the West Coast and Rocky Mountains. Instead, consider heading to Pittsburgh. The Steel City ranked No. 1 overall for first-time homebuyers buoyed by top rankings in both affordability and safety.

Here are the 10 best metros for first-timers:

1. Pittsburgh, PA
2. Raleigh, NC
3. Oklahoma City, OK
4. Hartford, CT
5. St. Louis, MO-IL
6. Cincinnati, OH
7. Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY
8. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
9. Kansas City, MO
10. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News-VA

Perhaps just as importantly, first-time homebuyers ought to avoid California altogether. The metro areas for San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose, Riverside and San Diego all placed in the bottom 10. The San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward metro ranked dead last.

Bankrate weighted affordability highest at 30 percent, followed by 20 percent weights for safety, market tightness and quality of the job market. Culture received a 10 percent weight.

The authors used data from Attom Data Solutions, the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Realtor.com, and the 2017 Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index.

If you’re looking to buy your first home, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers some tips and resources to get you started. Step one is, of course, to check your credit. Scores range from 300 to 850. Generally, the higher the score, the lower your interest rate will be. In March 2015, the median FICO score nationwide, meaning the score used by most mortgage lenders, was 721.

Other tips include assessing you spending, determining how much money to spend on a down payment, and creating a loan application packet.

Click here to find additional information on homeownership and home-buying assistance programs.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.