The 25 Best Affordable Suburbs in the U.S.

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Those with more sophisticated tastes will enjoy browsing the shops in the neighboring town of Nyack, a popular destination for antique hunters.

Twenty minutes by commuter rail from another Northeastern city lies Sharon, Mass., a growing Boston suburb of more than 18,000 people. Sharon residents love to swim, boat, and fish in Lake Massapoag, which is also the setting of an annual Independence Day fireworks display and regular musical performances. With a median home price of $493,900, life in Sharon is also much more economical than in the affluent communities of Brookline, Newton, and other towns closer to Boston.

Still, Sharon's two best assets may be its stellar schools and religious diversity, according to longtime resident and Coldwell Banker real estate agent Judy Levye. "Our school system is no secret," Levye says, noting that 96% of Sharon High School seniors go on to college. "In fact, that is what drives in a large number of families." Affirmation of diversity is also key in Sharon, which has an Islamic mosque, several Jewish synagogues, and "every kind of church you can imagine" Levye adds.

Suburban Heaven

If the Northeast's concept of "affordable" housing still seems a bit beyond your reach, look no further than the West and Southwest, where towns like Kaysville, Utah, and Sandia Heights, N.M., offer many homes under $400,000 and even $300,000.

"We've thought about moving but we haven't made the change. We couldn't replace what we have here anywhere else," says Melissa Coxey, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker and resident of Kaysville for over 20 years. Kaysville, a popular destination for those escaping the higher cost of living in nearby Salt Lake City, has one of the lowest median home price on our list, at $209,100—but this still spells status for many Utah homeowners.

"Stuff doesn't last long here," says Coxey, who has been selling houses in the area for the past 10 years. "And part of the reason is to be able to say: ‘I do live in Kaysville.'"

Sandia Heights, N.M., is also home to many proud residents. The contemporary community, situated at the foot of the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque, is filled with adobe homes and all-natural sagebrush-and-cactus landscaping. It has spectacular city and mountain views and some of the cleanest air in the country. Sixty-five percent of residents have graduate degrees, due to the high concentration of defense-related federal laboratories in the area. The property tax rate is just $7 per $1,000 of home value.

"We're right next to a high-end city neighborhood with high taxes, but we pay county taxes," notes Max Sanchez, a sixth-generation New Mexican and a Realtor with Coldwell Banker. "Why would you want to live anywhere else?"

Click here to view the slide show: 25 Affordable Suburbs.

For more best affordable suburb ideas, see Maya Roney's blog.

Roney is Real Estate writer for BusinessWeek.com.