West Chester, Pennsylvania Is the Most Popular Town On Zillow

22.12.2023 - 00:25 / thespruce.com / Christianna Silva

Whether you’re house hunting, looking for a new apartment, or considering a move, Zillow surfing is one of the most lovely experiences you can have online. There’s no comment section or social media aspect to it; it’s simply a tool for exploration and fun, and, boy, did we take advantage of that this year.

Each year, Zillow surfers seem to have a new region they’re obsessed with. In 2021, the West Coast ruled Zillow searches, and last year, the Midwest took the top spot. But the most popular market among Zillow surfers this year was the Northeast—specifically, West Chester, Pennsylvania.

West Chester, a small town of about 20,000 people, is known for its historic charm and relative closeness to Philadelphia. Because of its popularity on Zillow, home values increased eight percent in the town; a typical West Chester home is now worth about $584,000, making it one of the more expensive cities in the state.

And of the people searching for homes in West Chester, nearly two-thirds of the searchers were people who didn’t already live there, meaning more people might be flocking to the area.

West Chester isn’t the only small town in the Northeast with folks searching like wild on Zillow. Nine of the 10 most popular markets had a population under 100,000 people, and seven of the 10 were either in New Hampshire or Connecticut.

It looks like Hallmark has made its mark, and everyone wants to escape to a small town. The top ten most popular markets of 2023 on Zillow were West Chester, Pennsylvania; Nashua, New Hampshire; Manchester, New Hampshire; Wethersfield, Connecticut; West Hartford, Connecticut; Stow, Ohio; Middletown, Connecticut; Twinsburg, Ohio; Newington, Connecticut; and Concord, New Hampshire.

Zillow ranked these