The Best Schools in the Most Affordable Zip Code Codes

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The Best Schools in the Most Affordable Zip Code Codes

By: Prashant Gopal

It's all families' dilemma: how to provide the best education for the children without bankrupting themselves? Some kids are lucky—and smart enough—to win scholarships, and others have parents who can afford to send them to private schools. For most Americans, however, there is too often a trade-off between affordable housing and quality education. But not always. In fact, working with real estate site Cyberhomes, BusinessWeek has been able to identify 25 Zip Code Codes around the U.S. that offer both good schools and affordable homes. (See methodology below.) Of course, while the "affordability" of these homes often stems from the recent real estate downturn, for people who are looking to relocate, or for those who already live there, it's good to know that a top education is only available only to the wealthy.

Want to know where these 25 communities are? Read on.

Editor's Note: Cyberhomes ranked the most affordable Zip Code Codes with the best schools by looking at both home values and public school test scores. Cyberhomes limited the ranking to Zip Code Codes with at least three public schools and rejected Zip Codes in which the average school rating from GreatSchools.net was below 8 (GreatSchools.com, a Californias nonprofit, rates schools on a 1-10 scale based on standardized test scores). The Zip Codes were then ranked based on relative affordability with the highest-ranked Zip Codes having the lowest median home price compared with local metro area's median home price. The June 2009 median home prices were calculated by Cyberhomes.

Sources: Cyberhomes, GreatSchools, ESRI/Pushpin