Homeownership Dreams Crushed? Here’s the Brutal Salary Reality in America’s Top 50 Cities
Banks keep raising the bar—while wages crawl. Can you even afford a mailbox in 2025?
We decoded the math behind homeownership across major metros. Spoiler: You’ll need a side hustle just to qualify for a shoebox.
The Salary Shock Test
Forget avocado toast—these housing markets demand blood sacrifices. The numbers don’t lie (though mortgage brokers might).
Coastal Nightmares vs. Midwest Mirage
San Francisco or Detroit? One requires a CEO’s paycheck, the other… well, hope you like snow and abandoned factories.
The Fine Print That Screws You
‘Affordable’ cities? Sure—if you ignore property taxes, HOA fees, and the inevitable roof repair that’ll cost three Bitcoins.
Wake up call: The American Dream now comes with a 20% down payment and a lifetime of debt. But hey—at least landlords are getting richer.
Key Takeaways
- Experts recommend spending no more than 30% of your income on housing costs.
- We’ve calculated the income needed to afford a median home in the 50 largest metros, using average mortgage rates, taxes, and insurance.
- Pittsburgh leads the list of 13 affordable cities for households earning less than $100,000.
- Earn more than $100,000 or even $150,000? See which of the 50 biggest metros are affordable at different income levels.
The full article continues below these offers from our partners.
Is This Home in Your Budget? Here's How to Find Out
When deciding to buy a home, it’s essential to assess whether the costs align with your income. Fortunately, a simple rule of thumb can help guide you: Aim to spend no more than 30% of your gross income on housing costs, a recommendation the federal government has made since the 1980s.
But keep in mind that this guideline covers not just your mortgage payment but also property taxes and homeowners' insurance, which can vary widely by location. If you're putting down less than 20% on your home purchase, you'll also need to factor in private mortgage insurance (PMI).
For instance, if your combined annual salary is $90,000, that’s $7,500 in gross monthly income. At 30% of that, you’d have $2,250 to spend on your mortgage payment and one month’s taxes, insurance, and PMI (if applicable). If you can stay below that $2,250 threshold to give yourself some financial cushion, that's even better.
Find the Best Cities for Your Budget: Income Breakdown for Homebuyers
To determine the annual income needed to afford the median home in various parts of the country, we've crunched the numbers for all 50 of the largest U.S. metro areas. For median home prices, we’ve used Realtor.com’s latest housing report.
For mortgage rates, we’ve drawn on the Zillow Mortgage API's latest average for 30-year new purchase loans. This is based on a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80% or less (meaning a down payment of at least 20%) and an applicant credit score range of 680–739. If you put down less or your credit score falls below this range, your mortgage rate may be higher.
To estimate property taxes, we applied the average property tax rate for each state compiled by the Tax Foundation. For homeowners' insurance, we used a monthly national estimate for $300,000 in dwelling coverage from Insurify.
In our calculations below, we haven't included a PMI estimate, as it doesn't apply to all buyers. However, if PMI is required for your loan, be sure to factor in that additional cost.
Cities Where You Can Afford the Median Home on Less Than $100,000
| Pittsburgh, PA | $252,278 | 6.70% | $1,302 | $250 | $215 | $1,767 | $70,700 |
| Cleveland, OH | $268,825 | 6.74% | $1,393 | $293 | $215 | $1,902 | $76,077 |
| Birmingham, AL | $309,500 | 6.75% | $1,606 | $93 | $215 | $1,914 | $76,551 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $280,000 | 6.74% | $1,451 | $268 | $215 | $1,935 | $77,388 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | $300,000 | 6.74% | $1,555 | $220 | $215 | $1,990 | $79,602 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $299,450 | 6.38% | $1,495 | $314 | $215 | $2,025 | $80,990 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $324,950 | 6.66% | $1,671 | $198 | $215 | $2,083 | $83,330 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $325,000 | 6.75% | $1,686 | $209 | $215 | $2,110 | $84,396 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | $339,950 | 6.76% | $1,766 | $139 | $215 | $2,120 | $84,782 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $334,273 | 6.73% | $1,731 | $214 | $215 | $2,160 | $86,416 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $339,700 | 6.69% | $1,752 | $385 | $215 | $2,352 | $94,072 |
| Tucson, AZ | $385,000 | 6.74% | $1,996 | $141 | $215 | $2,352 | $94,072 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $349,950 | 6.74% | $1,814 | $382 | $215 | $2,411 | $96,439 |
Cities Where You Can Afford the Median Home on $100,000 to $149,999
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $370,000 | 6.69% | $1,908 | $419 | $215 | $2,542 | $101,696 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $408,495 | 6.67% | $2,102 | $252 | $215 | $2,569 | $102,766 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | $399,950 | 6.74% | $2,073 | $293 | $215 | $2,581 | $103,257 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $384,950 | 6.70% | $1,987 | $382 | $215 | $2,584 | $103,358 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $399,900 | 6.76% | $2,077 | $300 | $215 | $2,592 | $103,682 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $415,000 | 6.67% | $2,136 | $256 | $215 | $2,607 | $104,265 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | $415,000 | 6.75% | $2,153 | $266 | $215 | $2,635 | $105,385 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $419,945 | 6.68% | $2,163 | $269 | $215 | $2,648 | $105,914 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $426,950 | 6.67% | $2,197 | $263 | $215 | $2,676 | $107,020 |
| Columbus, OH | $392,450 | 6.74% | $2,034 | $428 | $215 | $2,678 | $107,107 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $377,000 | 6.76% | $1,958 | $575 | $215 | $2,748 | $109,924 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $449,433 | 6.70% | $2,320 | $232 | $215 | $2,767 | $110,691 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | $410,000 | 6.74% | $2,125 | $427 | $215 | $2,767 | $110,692 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | $460,000 | 6.70% | $2,375 | $238 | $215 | $2,827 | $113,092 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $435,000 | 6.76% | $2,259 | $359 | $215 | $2,833 | $113,332 |
| Richmond, VA | $449,900 | 6.75% | $2,334 | $289 | $215 | $2,838 | $113,525 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | $427,350 | 6.74% | $2,215 | $410 | $215 | $2,840 | $113,588 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | $475,000 | 6.78% | $2,472 | $194 | $215 | $2,881 | $115,249 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $439,900 | 6.69% | $2,269 | $499 | $215 | $2,982 | $119,283 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $505,000 | 6.74% | $2,618 | $185 | $215 | $3,018 | $120,713 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $449,450 | 6.73% | $2,327 | $554 | $215 | $3,097 | $123,866 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $509,950 | 6.67% | $2,624 | $314 | $215 | $3,154 | $126,153 |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | $544,950 | 6.76% | $2,831 | $223 | $215 | $3,268 | $130,722 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $510,950 | 6.69% | $2,635 | $579 | $215 | $3,429 | $137,160 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $600,000 | 6.76% | $3,116 | $250 | $215 | $3,581 | $143,258 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $599,900 | 6.66% | $3,084 | $350 | $215 | $3,649 | $145,961 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $599,995 | 6.73% | $3,107 | $390 | $215 | $3,712 | $148,475 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $612,500 | 6.78% | $3,188 | $311 | $215 | $3,714 | $148,570 |
Cities Where You Can Afford the Median Home on $150,000 or More
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $625,000 | 6.66% | $3,213 | $365 | $215 | $3,793 | $151,709 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $604,950 | 6.76% | $3,142 | $529 | $215 | $3,887 | $155,460 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $785,463 | 6.74% | $4,071 | $491 | $215 | $4,777 | $191,093 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $775,000 | 6.38% | $3,870 | $814 | $215 | $4,899 | $195,951 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $841,950 | 6.79% | $4,387 | $681 | $215 | $5,282 | $211,288 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $987,500 | 6.66% | $5,077 | $576 | $215 | $5,868 | $234,712 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $990,000 | 6.66% | $5,090 | $578 | $215 | $5,882 | $235,284 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $1,148,483 | 6.66% | $5,904 | $670 | $215 | $6,789 | $271,573 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $1,373,750 | 6.66% | $7,062 | $801 | $215 | $8,079 | $323,153 |
Today's Mortgage Rate News
We cover new purchase and refinance mortgage rates every business day. Find our latest rate reports here:
- Today's Mortgage Rate News
- Today's Refinance Rate News
How We Track the Best Mortgage Rates
The national and state averages cited above are provided as is via the Zillow Mortgage API, assuming a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80% (i.e., a down payment of at least 20%) and an applicant credit score in the 680–739 range. The resulting rates represent what borrowers should expect when receiving quotes from lenders based on their qualifications, which may vary from advertised teaser rates. © Zillow, Inc., 2025. Use is subject to the Zillow Terms of Use.
Article Sources Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include WHITE papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. "Measuring Housing Affordability: Assessing the 30 Percent of Income Standard," Page 2 (Page 3 of PDF).
Realtor.com. "July 2025 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report."
Insurify. "Average Cost of Homeowners Insurance (2025)."
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