15 US Cities Where You Can Buy a Used Car For Under $20,000

jetcityimage / Getty Images

With inventory low and prices still so high, finding an affordable used car remains difficult. Not only are there fewer used cars available for under $20,000, but those that can be found are older and have higher mileage.

According to an iSeeCars report, average used car prices are up 47.7% since 2019 — and the share of used cars in the market decreased from 49.3% to 12.4%.

“Among the pandemic’s many casualties is the affordable used car, which has nearly vanished from the used car marketplace,” said iSeeCars’ executive analyst Karl Brauer. “In 2019, used car shoppers with a budget of $15,000 could afford over 20 percent of the late-model used car market. Today that budget only gets them access to 1.6 percent of the market.”

iSeeCars arrived at its results by analyzing over 10.8 million 1- to 5-year-old used cars sold between January 2019 and July 2023. The study found the average used car cost $23,351 in 2019. Used car prices have ballooned to $34,491 in 2023, averaging increases of more than 10% per year.

America’s top 50 metro areas all experienced losses in the market share of used cars under $20,000 from 2019 to 2023 by more than 65%. Boston, Manchester, Austin and San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose saw the biggest changes in share.

“Two popular compact SUVs, the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, increased in price 37.1 percent and 41 percent, respectively, over the last 4 years,” said Brauer. “These price increases occurred despite a doubling of the average mileage on these same used models, from less than 50,000 miles in 2019 to over 100,000 miles in 2023.”

If you’re looking to buy a used car for under $20,000, you might want to take a road trip to Florida or Ohio. To see which specific metros round out iSeeCars’ top 15, check out the list below.

Market Share of Used Cars Priced Under $20,000 in 2023

1. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale: 18.9% (% change in share: -66.5%).
2. Orlando-Daytona Beach:17.9% (-68.2%).
3. Jacksonville: 17.2% (-68.5%).
4. Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota): 16.8% (-69.1%).
5. Cincinnati: 16.4% (-70.7%).
6. Oklahoma City: 16.4% (-65.9%).
7. Cleveland-Akron (Canton): 16.3% (-71.7%).
8. Columbus: 15.6% (-71.8%).
9. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News: 15.0% (-73.7%).
10. Greensboro-Winston Salem: 14.8% (-72.0%).
11. Salt Lake City: 14.8% (-69.2%).
12. Fresno-Visalia: 14.5% (-74.9%).
13. Phoenix: 14.4% (-73.3%).
14. San Diego: 14.3% (-73.1%).
15. Kansas City: 14.2% (-72.2%).

More From GOBankingRates