No down payment? These are the best cities for saving up

Saving cities

Would-be homeowners often cite down payments as their biggest hurdle to buying a house. But according to new data, the city they live in could play a role in their savings habits. Could moving help them save that down payment faster?

The best spots to save

According to a new analysis, the Midwest is where saving up is the easiest. Kansas City, Missouri-Kansas, claimed the top spot, offering residents potential savings upwards of $12,000 – or 63 percent of their recommended six-month emergency fund, given local costs of living.

Other Midwest cities making the list were Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; St. Louis, Missouri; and Indianapolis. In Cincinnati, which took No. 2 in the rankings, residents can save $11,231 per year or 56 percent of their six-month emergency fund.

Can’t save for a down payment? Your employer may be able to help

In the South, Memphis, Tennessee; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Raleigh, North Carolina, were the only cities to make the top 10, while Baltimore and Pittsburgh were the only Northeastern towns on the list. No West Coast markets made the top 10.

Where saving is the hardest

The worst cities in terms of savings potential are largely located in the Western U.S. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, came in at No 1. Residents in the city have an annual savings potential of $49,228. According to the analysis, they need at least $67,000-plus for a six-month emergency fund.

Also ranking low for savings potential were fellow California metros Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Las Vegas, Boston, New York City, Miami and Portland, Oregon, rounded out the bottom 10.

Low- and no-money-down mortgage loans for 2018

Get today’s mortgage rates

Don’t have a big down payment saved up? Then shop around. Despite the old myth, you don’t need 20 percent to buy a home. See what loans and rates you qualify for today. Some require as little as 3 percent down.