Using Zillow page-view traffic, available housing inventory, price appreciation, sales data and other housing metrics that show consumer demand, Zillow analyzed thousands of ZIP codes within the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas to create a ranking of the site’s most popular U.S. cities. And Zillow says the best retirement town is Dunedin.
“The most popular places on Zillow showcase a few trends we’ve noticed over the course of the year — most notably that affordability has become the chief driver of the market. The Midwest and most Northeastern markets saw relatively small run-ups in home values over the course of the pandemic, and now are still affordable enough for residents to shop in,” said Anushna Prakash, economic data analyst at Zillow.
Top cities
Here are the rankings of other cities:
Most popular on Zillow overall: Prairie Village, Kansas
An upscale suburban community just minutes from downtown Kansas City, Prairie Village was pushed to the top of Zillow’s popularity rankings with site-leading page views of for-sale listings per day. Established on the Kansas-Missouri state line and featuring several activity-filled parks, posh shops and restaurants, Prairie Village was also tops on Zillow’s popularity rankings for small towns.
“I think when most people are looking at houses, they are looking at building a home, and that goes beyond the four walls of the structure you live in and expands to the community,” said Earvin Ray, owner of Ray Homes in Kansas City. “Prairie Village offers the trifecta of beautiful homes, a spectrum of accessible price points and great amenities, such as highly rated schools, community events and local shopping.”
Rounding out the top three are Derry, New Hampshire, a charming New England town less than 45 minutes from downtown Boston; and Bon Air, Virginia, a small residential community near Richmond with historic Victorian cottages lining its main road.
Related: Experts Rank Best Places to Retire in the U.S. in 2023
Most popular large city: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan, topped the popularity chart among cities with populations greater than 200,000, driven by category-leading page views per listing and relatively affordable homes. A wide selection of breweries and a growing local foodie scene are putting Grand Rapids on the map for connoisseurs.
Richmond, Virginia — still a very competitive area for home buyers — landed in second place, and Omaha, Nebraska, took third. The three top results led the category for page views per listing, and all feature typical home values significantly lower than the national average of $357,733.
Most popular seaside town: Beverly, Massachusetts
This Boston suburb features miles of coastline and easily accessible public parks, helping to make it Zillow’s most popular seaside town1 in 2022. Top rankings for page views and relatively low home values compared to its competition helped propel Beverly to the crest of the category.
Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Newport, Oregon, (the most popular beach town in 2021) ranked second and third for similar reasons.
Most popular retirement town: Dunedin, Florida
With Dunedin’s location on the Gulf Coast west of Tampa, along with local access to plenty of waterfront parks and country clubs, its popularity as a retirement town2 is easy to understand.
Florida is home to the top three cities in the category, with Sarasota placing second, and St. Pete Beach in third. Demand for homes has surged in Florida throughout the pandemic, as the state is both a sunny, relatively affordable locale and a prime retirement destination, and it has stayed hot as expensive Western markets cooled in 2022.
Most popular small town: Windham, New Hampshire
Windham, a bedroom community outside Boston, scored highest on Zillow’s index after Prairie Village. Typical home values of $738,574 in Windham are higher than the Boston metro ($643,642). Zillow defined “small towns” as cities with populations between 15,000 and 25,000.
Hockessin, Delaware, located outside Philadelphia, followed Windham for third.
Top college town: Tempe, Arizona
Part of the Phoenix megaplex, Tempe is home to Arizona State University. Reigning as Zillow’s top college town4 for the second year in a row, the city is home to the second-highest total number of rental listings among college towns studied, after Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has one of the largest populations of undergraduate and graduate college students.
Smithfield, Rhode Island, where Bryant University is located, came in second place; while Bowling Green, Ohio, home of Bowling Green State University, landed third.