The 10 Cheapest Beach Towns in America

Have you ever wanted to live by the beach? You’re not alone. Fantasizing about living by the beach, especially in these hot summer days, is quite common. But living by the beach doesn’t come cheap. Unless, you live in one of these 10 most affordable beach towns. 

Realtor.com has come up with a list of the most affordable beach towns in the US where buyers can find the best priced homes by the water. Only locations with at least 50 properties within a mile of the water in the past year were included. Bayside communities were also considered. These towns were selected by price per square foot. 

Let’s start with the number 10 beach town and go down to the 1 most affordable beach town in America. 

10. Shirley, New York

Shirley is located in Suffolk county in New York. It’s a community in the town of Brookhaven, on the South Shore of Long Island. As of 2020, the population in Shirley is 26,360.This beach town is located in the humid continental climate zone with warm, humid summers and cold winters.

Here the median per square foot price within 1 mile of a beach is $256.

The median price of a home within 1 mile of the beach in Shirley is $414,990. In this community, $350,000 can get you a modern four-bedroom home, which is quite a steal to live close to the beach. 

9. Crescent City, California 

Crescent City is located in the upper northwest part of California, about 20 miles south of the Oregon border. This is not your typical California beach town. It’s much cooler than the famous Southern California beach towns and unusually susceptible to tsunamis due to the city’s offshore geography. In fact, much of the city was destroyed by four tsunami waves generated by the Great Alaskan earthquake off Anchorage, Alaska in 1964. 

The population of Crescent City as of 2020 is 6,673. The city has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate with dry summers and wet winters. Summer highs stay in the 60s while winter highs stay in the 50s. 

The median per square foot price in Crescent City within 1 mile of a beach is $248. If you’re looking to purchase a home, the median price of a home within 1 mile of a beach is $329,000. I bet you never thought you could live in a California beach town for these prices. 

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8. North Beach, Maryland 

This town is located in Calvert County Maryland and has a population of just 2,146 as of 2020. The town was incorporated in 1910 as strictly a residential town. North Beach was revitalized in the 1980s and again after Tropical Storm Isabel destroyed many of the waterfront homes and boardwalk in 2003. In this beach town, summers are warm, muggy, and wet and winters are cold with moderate snowfall, totaling 15 to 20 inches annually. 

The median per square foot price in North Beach within 1 mile of a beach is $245 and the median home price is $384,495. 

7. Navarre, FL

Navarre is an unincorporated community in Santa Rosa County in the northwest Florida Panhandle. The town had a small population of 1,500 in 1970 but has grown to over 43,500 by 2020. As one of the fastest growing communities in Florida, Navarre has seen the development of luxury accommodations, boutique shops, schools, and various outdoor activities. Beautiful white sand beaches line the coast of Navarre Beach. 

Navarre has a humid subtropical climate with hot and humid summers but mild and even warm winters. The town is often threatened by hurricanes and several hurricanes have caused significant damage throughout the years. 

The median price per square foot within 1 mile of a beach in Navarre is $240 with the median price of a home being $442,500. Homebuyers looking in Navarre Beach can score a condo for around $450,000.

6. Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic city is the most famous beach town on our list, known mostly for casinos. New Jersey voters legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City in 1976 and the first casino opened 2 years later. Today, Atlantic City is known as the “Gambling Capital of the East Coast” and currently has 9 large casinos. 

Atlantic CIty has a humid subtropical climate with warm, moderately humid summers and cool winters. The population here is around 38,000 with 32% being Black. The median price per square foot within 1 mile of a beach in Atlantic City is $213 with the median home price being $185,000. You can find a relatively small, three-bedroom home close to the beach for under $170,000. 

5. Corpus Christi, Texas

Corpus Christi is located in the South Texas region on the Gulf of Mexico, about 130 miles southeast of San Antonio. The city’s population was 317,863 as of 2020, making it the biggest beach town on our list. The Port of Corpus Christi is the fifth-largest U.S. port and handles mostly oil and agricultural products. 

Corpus Christi has a humid subtropical climate, with hot, very humid summers and very short, mild winters. Hurricanes rarely hit this city but tornadoes can happen here. 

The median price per square foot within 1 mile of a beach in Corpus Christi is $206 with the median home price being $289,948. You can get a decent sized, three-bedroom home less than a mile from the Bay of Corpus Christi for about $270,000. 

 4. Grand Isle, Louisiana

Grand Isle is a town in Jefferson Parish located on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico. The population here was just 1,005 as of 2020, making it the smallest beach town on our list.  Due to its location, Grand Isle has been repeatedly hit by hurricanes and tropical storms. In fact, the town gets hit by one on average every 2.68 years. 

Grand Isle has a humid subtropical climate with mild winters but long, hot, and humid summers. The median price per square foot within 1 mile of a beach here is $190 with the median home price being $309,500. You can land a small classic beach house sitting on stilts for less than $250,000 in Grand Isle. 

3. New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the US. The city has a population of 27.367 as of 2020 and several military installations. The climate in New London is classified as a temperate climate, which is also called Humid Subtropical. The summers are long, hot, and humid and the winters are cool to cold with occasional snowfall. 

The median per square foot within 1 mile of a beach in New London is $175 with the median home price being $257,000. 

A condo right on the water just south of Green Harbor Beach in New Longdon, home to some of the best public beaches in the state, goes for about $170,000.

2. Newport News, Virginia

Newport News is the fifth-most populated city in Virginia with a population of 186,247 as of 2020, which makes it the second biggest beach town on our list. It’s located at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Many of the residents in Newport News are employed at the Newport News Shipbuilding and various military bases and suppliers, so the economy is highly connected to the military. 

Newport News is 41.27% Black, making it the beach town with the highest Black population on our list. The city has cool to mild winters and hot, humid summers. Snowfall averages 5.8 inches per season. 

The median per square foot within 1 of a beach in Newport News is $150 and the median price of a home is $200,000. 

1. Gulfport, Mississippi

Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi. As of 2020, the city had a population of 72,926, which makes it one of the bigger beach towns on our list. The city is located on the Gulf Coast in Southern Mississippi. The city was hit hard by two hurricanes in its history, one being Hurricane Katrina in 2005 but the far more devastating one was Hurricane Camille in 1969. 

Gulfport is a tourism destination with 6.7 miles of white sand beaches along the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi’s coast casinos. It has a humid subtropical climate with short and mild winters and long, hot, and humid summers. The Black population here is 38%, which makes it the second highest Black population on our list. 

The median price per square foot within 1 mile of a beach in Gulf port is $144 the the median price of a home being $224,900. If you’re looking for a fully renovated condo within a 5-minute walk to the beach, you will likely get gone for about $225,000. What a steal! 

So which one of these beach towns has stolen your hearts? Let me know in the comments. That’s it for this episode, we’ll be back with more money talks.