10 States Where Homes Are So Cheap You Barely Need to Work

Residents of one region can work as few as 31 hours per month and still pay their mortgage, according to a new study.

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If you like the idea of working as little as possible to make your mortgage payments, consider buying a home in the Midwestern United States.

Residents of the region can work as few as 31 hours per month and still pay their mortgage, according to a recent study by GOBankingRates. Yes, that’s as few as 31 hours per month — not per week.

There are only 10 states where you can work fewer than 40 hours per month and still be able to pay your mortgage, and nine are among the 12 states that the U.S. Census Bureau defines as constituting the Midwest region. The other state is Pennsylvania, which borders the Midwest.

In the No. 1 ranked state, Ohio, you can work 30.76 hours a month and still afford a home, GOBankingRates found. Ohio and No. 3-ranked Indiana enjoy the lowest median home listing price in the country: $140,000.

At the other end of the spectrum is Hawaii, where you’ll have to work nearly three times as much — 88.13 hours per month — to afford a home. The Aloha State has the highest median home listing price in the nation: $577,500.

Kristen Bonner, lead researcher for the analysis, notes:

“It’s one thing to know an amount you must pay each month, but thinking of it in terms of working hours gives a whole new meaning.”

GOBankingRates’ analysis assumes you’re taking out a 30-year fixed mortgage with a down payment of 20 percent. Mortgage payments were calculated based on each state’s median home listing price.

The 10 states where you can work fewer than 40 hours a month and still make your mortgage are: