By Jorge Casuso

May 23, 2023 -- Santa Monica is the third least affordable city in the country to buy a home, according to an analysis of 300 U.S. cities by WalletHub released Tuesday.

The site analyzed cities by size based on ten key metrics that ranged from the costs of homes and their maintenance to tax rates and homeowners insurance costs, according to the financial website.

Of all the cities ranked, only Berkeley and Santa Barbara were less affordable than Santa Monica. The three were among the 15 California cities that ranked among the 20 least affordable in the U.S. for home buyers.

All three were also the least affordable among the 133 small cities -- those with fewer than 100,000 people -- ranked.

Of the 68 large cities -- those with more than 300,000 people -- Los Angeles was the least affordable, followed by New York and San Francisco.

Three Southern California cities -- Glendale, Irvine and Huntington Beach -- were the least affordable among the 99 mid-size cities (those with between 100,00 and 300,000 people).

The most affordable cities in the nation for home buyers were Montgomery, Alabama; Flint, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan and Akron, Ohio.

The most affordable California cities in the overall rankings were Victorville, which was the 56th most affordable, and Visalia, which ranked 78.

The other metrics used in the rankings were the cost of living, the cost per square foot, the rent-to-price ratio, median home-price appreciation, quarterly active listings per capita and vacancy rate.

Santa Monica had the lowest rent-to-price ratio, which estimates whether it's cheaper to rent or own property.

It ranked 239 in housing affordability, which reflects the median house price, and median annual household income and 293 in cost per square foot.

WalletHub's sample "considers only the city proper in each case and excludes cities in the surrounding metro area," the report said.