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Home prices can vary throughout a given state, driven largely by the geography of the state and its population centers. Here's a look at the 12 states where the combination of prices and wages offer home buyers the best bang for the buck.

The data, from the First American Real House Price Index, measures home price changes, taking local wages and mortgage rates into account "to better reflect consumers' purchasing power and capture the true cost of housing." The June 2017 data is ranked by RHPI value, where a reading of 100 is equal to conditions in January 2000.
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The Oakalla Covered Bridge crosses Big Walnut Creek in Putnam County, Indiana. The covered bridge with bright red weathered siding was built in 1898.
Kenneth Keifer/Kenneth Keifer - stock.adobe.com

No. 12: Indiana

Median Sales Price: $156,500*
Real Home Price Index: 66.7
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 7.2%
*Home price data from Indiana Association of Realtors
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Famous St. Louis Arch and Mississippi river
Charles Knowles/knowlesgallery - stock.adobe.com

No. 11: Missouri

Median Sales Price: $135,000
Real Home Price Index: 66.4
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 3.2%
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Downtown French Quarters New Orleans, Louisiana at Night
Christian Hinkle/Christian Hinkle - stock.adobe.com

No. 10: Louisiana

Median Sales Price: $179,000
Real Home Price Index: 66.3
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 8.1%
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ANTHONY HEFLIN/aheflin - stock.adobe.com

No. 9: North Carolina

Median Sales Price: $190,000
Real Home Price Index: 66.3
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 6.2%
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Harrisville, New Hampshire - July 11, 2013: A quintessential early 196h century New England village with its brick library, white steepled church, and clapboard house seen across Harrisville Pond
Picasa/lspi138 - stock.adobe.com

No. 8: New Hampshire

Median Sales Price: $244,933
Real Home Price Index: 62.7
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 6.0%
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an oil pump in the Texas Panhandle
Jim - stock.adobe.com

No. 7: Oklahoma

Median Sales Price: $152,500
Real Home Price Index: 61.4
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 3.6%
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The Arkansas Capital building located in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
Steven Frame/sframe - stock.adobe.com

No. 6: Arkansas

Median Sales Price: $154,000
Real Home Price Index: 61.1
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 2.5%
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Historic State House on the University of Iowa Campus
Jesse Kunerth - stock.adobe.com

No. 5: Iowa

Median Sales Price: $166,000
Real Home Price Index: 60.9
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 9.6%
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Welcome Sign For Sweet Home Alabama
Jim Vallee/Jim Vallee - stock.adobe.com

No. 4: Alabama

Median Sales Price: $155,000
Real Home Price Index: 57.5
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 4.3%
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Carbonbrain - stock.adobe.com

No. 3: Nebraska

Median Sales Price: $180,000
Real Home Price Index: 56.5
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 4.9%
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ehrlif - stock.adobe.com

No. 2: Kentucky

Median Sales Price: $166,500
Real Home Price Index: 55.6
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 6.1%
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State of Ohio flags waving in front of the Statehouse in Columbus, OG.
PAMELA BURLEY/aceshot - stock.adobe.com

No. 1: Ohio

Median Sales Price: $149,900
Real Home Price Index: 55.4
Year-Over-Year RHPI Change: 8.7%
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