This Is The Cheapest Town In VA To Buy A House, Study Says

APPALACHIA, VA — Could you live in Appalachia, a small town located at Virginia’s westernmost tip?

Would your answer change if moving to Appalachia meant you could shave tens of thousands of dollars off the price of a home?

The personal finance website GOBankingRates used data from the Zillow Home Value Index and the U.S. Census Bureau to find the places in all 50 states where houses are a steal.

According to Zillow, the average single-family home in the United States is valued at about $367,711. Compare that to $48,574 in Appalachia.

For example, one home currently on the market is a cozy, turn-key property for $65,000. The home is 1,080 square feet and features three bedrooms and one bathroom.

Another property listed for just $45,000 comes with three bedrooms, two baths and more than 1,700 square feet of living space.

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While the houses may be cheap, what’s the community of Appalachia like?

According to the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Appalachia is considered to be a largely intact "era" town of the late 1800s and early 1900s. At one time, the town was the center of a booming coal mining culture. The town was the "hub" of eight "coal camps" located along the outskirts of the city.

Named after the Appalachian Mountains, in the heart of which it stands, attractions located in Appalachia include the Powell River Trail, historic Kelly View School, and a Veterans and Miners Memorial Wall. The historic downtown business district includes several small businesses, including a restaurant and a coffee shop.

As of 2023, Appalachia's population was 1,387.

Nationally, the smallest city on GOBankingRates’ list is Brian Head, Utah. Originally known as Monument Peak, a town of 49 with a history rooted in exploration and logging. Also with populations under 100 are a pair of former mining towns often described as “living ghost towns”: Austin, Nevada, population 47, and Johannesburg, California, population 77.

Other specks on the map with populations under 500 include Bly, Oregon (population 123); Davidson, Oklahoma (159); Medicine Lake, Montana (190); Kitzmiller, Maryland (192); Lyon Mountain, New York (240); Drake North Dakota (245); Mystic, Iowa (257); Roxobel, North Carolina (347); Whiteface, Texas (390); Bowie, Arizona (399); Elmore, Minnesota (442); Pierce, Idaho (465); and Lind, Washington (491).

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