A number of Midwest cities rose to the top of Zillow’s most popular housing markets list, but one Illinois community outranked them all.
Rockford was named America’s most popular city for home shoppers in 2025 by the housing and real estate website. Zillow ranked the top markets across the nation, and of the nation’s top 10, six are in the Midwest, one is in Texas, one is on the West Coast and two are in the Northeast.
According to the real estate website, homebuyers overwhelmingly prioritized affordability, with most of the top 10 markets offering houses under $350,000. In addition, these housing markets offer growing job access, provide “more breathing room and less financial strain” and offer “big-city opportunities without big-city costs.”…