The more people that live, and clamor to live, in a given city, the higher housing prices tend to go. In San Francisco, for example, one of the most populous cities in the country, the median home value is $1.3 million and median monthly rent is $4,500.That's more than six times the national median home value of $216,700 and two-and-a-half times the $1,655 national median rent.

Still, there are a few attractive and growing U.S. cities where business is booming and yet housing won't break the bank. That's according to real-estate site Trulia, which "dug into the data around jobs, population, development and home values across the U.S." to find three particular cities they deem "high-growth" and "way more affordable" in terms of housing than similar places.

CNBC Make It, using Zillow data, then identified the median home value and median rent in each city.

Here are three fast-growing cities with relatively affordable housing: