Gulfport is America's 'most affordable' beach town, website says

Gulfport rates as the most-affordable beach town in America for housing, according to SmartAsset, a website that offers financial-management tools.

Biloxi came in at No. 4, and Bay St. Louis was No. 10.

In fact, SmartAsset concluded seven of the 10 most-affordable beach towns for home buyers are on the Gulf Coast. The other three are on the Atlantic in Florida.

SmartAsset based the rankings on home value and size, annual housing cost, insurance, property tax rates and other costs, according to a news release.

Gulfport's median home value, according to SmartAsset, is $120,600, compared with $144,600 in Biloxi and $155,800 in Bay St. Louis. Median annual property taxes in Gulfport and Biloxi are almost even. Bay St. Louis had a slightly higher annual tax rate.

Ocean Springs just missed the Top 10 at No. 11, with a median home value of $149,800, plus property taxes and annual housings costs that are higher than those in Gulfport, Biloxi and Bay St. Louis.

The press release said, "Although coastal areas account for just 10 percent of U.S. land mass, they hold 39 percent of the population," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

" If there's a downside to our affection for the beach, it's that those same coastal areas are in high demand and therefore expensive."

It listed median home values at more than $700,000 in beach towns such as Santa Barbara, Calif., and Naples, Fla.

A chart with the Top 10 list included median home values, median rooms per house, median annual property taxes and median annual housings costs. Housings costs include insurance, mortgage payments and utilities.

Five cities in the Top 10 have lower median home values, but higher property taxes and/or annual housing costs.

SmartAsset says median home values in all its Top 10 cities are below the national average, "and the beach is just a short walk away."

The complete Top 10 list:

1. Gulfport

2. Pensacola, Fla.

3. Port Arthur, Texas

4. Biloxi

5. Freeport, Texas

6. Daytona Beach, Fla.

7. Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.

8. Fort Pierce, Fla.

9. Melbourne, Fla.

10. Bay St. Louis

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Gulfport is America's 'most affordable' beach town, website says ."