What are the best – and worst – cities for first-time home buyers?

There are a lot of factors that play into the first-time home-buying experience – not least of which is the city you’re buying in.

Whether first-time home buyers in the U.S. have a great experience – or a never-ending series of headaches – can depend largely on the city they’re buying in.

So what are the best cities for first-time buyers? WalletHub has compiled a list of 300 U.S. metropolitan areas to determine the best – and worst – cities to buy in.

In order to make the list, WalletHub looked at factors like housing affordability, the real estate market and general living environment. The list was also broken down into small, medium-sized and large cities.

Here are the top big cities for first-time buyers:
  • Colorado Springs, CO
  • Arlington, TX
  • Austin, TX
  • Virginia Beach, VA
  • Raleigh, NC
  • Oklahoma City, OK
  • Omaha, NE
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Tulsa, OK
  • Lexington, KY
Top medium-sized cities:
  • Overland Park, KS
  • Plano, TX
  • Grand Prairie, TX
  • Gilbert, AZ
  • Garland, TX
  • Montgomery, AL
  • Irving, TX
  • Lincoln, NE
  • Chesapeake, VA
  • Chandler, AZ
Top small cities:
  • Allen, TX
  • Centennial, CO
  • Broken Arrow, OK
  • Frisco, TX
  • Carrollton, TX
  • McKinney, TX
  • Longmont, CO
  • Thornton, CO
  • Richardson, TX
  • Arvada, CO
And the worst cities? Here are WalletHub’s picks for the lousiest places – regardless of size – to be a first-time homebuyer:
  • Inglewood, CA
  • Salinas, CA
  • Paterson, NJ
  • Miami, FL
  • New York, NY
  • Oakland, CA
  • New Bedford, MA
  • Miami Beach, FL
  • Richmond, CA
  • Compton, CA