Top-rated schools in the most affordable towns

The desire to live in an area with a top-notch school district influences many homebuyers. Most parents will do whatever it takes to ensure a great education for their children. But the reality is that you don’t need to drop a great deal of money on private schools to make sure your children are learning. And you don’t need to move to the priciest parts of the country to get into a top-rated public school.

Just head to the Chicago suburb of Aurora, IL which topped Realtor.com®’s list of the most affordable housing markets with the best elementary schools in the country. It’s also 45% more affordable than the surrounding metro area.

Schools on this list received at least an 8 out of 10 ranking by education information group GreatSchools.org in the largest 15 metros where buyers can find a home without breaking the bank. In the study, researchers looked at the monthly housing costs (mortgage payments, taxes, etc.) needed to purchase a median-priced home in all of the ZIP codes in each metro. They found that the monthly cost of owning a median-priced home in the top elementary housing markets is, on average, just 23 percent of the median household income in the ZIP. That is 41 percent less costly than the surrounding metro area. They also filtered out the ZIP codes with high crime and poverty rates, and for geographic diversity included only one ZIP code per metro.

These markets offer strong public schools and affordable homes, making them a great fit for homebuyers with elementary school-age children:

Aurora, IL

ZIP code: 60503 (outside of Chicago)

Median home list price in ZIP code: $259,900

Top schools: Homestead Elementary School (10 out of 10), Wheatlands Elementary School (8 out of 10), and Wolfs Crossing Elementary School (10 out of 10)

Rosemount, MN

ZIP code: 55068 (outside of Minneapolis)

Median home list price in ZIP code: $299,900

Top schools: Shannon Park Elementary School (10 out of 10)

Huntington Woods, MI

ZIP code: 48070 (outside of Detroit)

Median home list price in ZIP code: $400,000

Top schools: Burton Elementary School (8 out of 10)

Chandler, AZ

ZIP code: 85226 (outside of Phoenix)

Median home list price in ZIP code: $324,155

Top schools: Kyrene De La Mirada Leadership Academy (9 out of 10), Kyrene De La Paloma Elementary School (8 out of 10), Kyrene De Las Brisas Elementary School (9 out of 10), Kyrene del Cielo Elementary School (10 out of 10), Kyrene Traditional Academy, Sureno Campus (9 out of 10), and Paragon Science Academy (9 out of 10)

Transaction Coordinator

Transaction Coordinator