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Share

The 10 least affordable big cities for buying a car

Claes Bell @ClaesBell
June 28, 2017  in  Auto Loans

1 of 11

The Phoenix skyline
Andrew Zarivny/Getty Images
The least affordable cities for car buyers

Tastes in new vehicles can vary from city to city — think Texas’ love of trucks or Miami’s preference for sleek roadsters. Affordability also can differ from place to place.Insurance rates, local incomes and sales taxes can make it more difficult to comfortably afford a new car in some cities.

Here are major metros areas where buying and financing a new vehicle is toughest on the typical car buyer’s budget, based on Bankrate’s 2017 Car Affordability Study. We count down to the least affordable market.

The Bankrate Daily

2 of 11

St. Louis and Old Courthouse
Jose Gil/Shutterstock.com
10. St. Louis

 

  • Affordable car price: $19,840 (vs. national average $33,261)
  • Affordable monthly payment: $387
  • Median income: $58,177

3 of 11

Phoenix
Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty Images
9. Phoenix
  • Affordable car price: $19,571 (vs. national average $33,261)
  • Affordable monthly payment: $379
  • Median income: $57,213

4 of 11

Fort Worth, Texas
Leena Robinson/Shutterstock.com
8. Dallas-Fort Worth
  • Affordable car price: $19,038 (vs. national average $33,261)
  • Affordable monthly payment: $383
  • Median income: $63,493

5 of 11

Houston skyline
f11photo/Shutterstock.com
7. Houston
  • Affordable car price: $18,858 (vs. national average $33,261)
  • Affordable monthly payment: $370
  • Median income: $63,309

6 of 11

Aerial view of Riverside-San Bernardino
welcomia/Shutterstock.com
6. Riverside-San Bernardino, California
  • Affordable car price: $17,833 (vs. national average $33,261)
  • Affordable monthly payment: $351
  • Median income: $57,770

7 of 11

San Antonio skyline
Sean Pavone/Shutterstock.com
5. San Antonio
  • Affordable car price: $16,432 (vs. national average $33,261)
  • Affordable monthly payment: $324
  • Median income: $56,735

8 of 11

Orlando, Florida, skyline
Sean Pavone/Shutterstock.com
4. Orlando, Florida
  • Affordable car price: $15,902 (vs. national average $33,261)
  • Affordable monthly payment: $309
  • Median income: $52,609

9 of 11

St. Petersburg, Florida
Steven Frame/Shutterstock.com
3. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida
  • Affordable car price: $14,189 (vs. national average $33,261)
  • Affordable monthly payment: $268
  • Median income: $50,378

10 of 11

Downtown Detroit
Bloomberg/Getty Images
2. Detroit
  • Affordable car price: $13,913 (vs. national average $33,261)
  • Affordable monthly payment: $273
  • Median income: $55,237

11 of 11

The Miami skyline
1. Miami

Songquan Deng/Shutterstock.com

  • Affordable car price: $13,577 (vs. national average $33,261)
  • Affordable monthly payment: $256
  • Median income: $51,954

You can lower your auto loan rates by shopping around for affordable auto financing.

Related Links:
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