🏠 Some Americans May Not Be Able to Afford a Mortgage With a Regular 9-5 Anymore

What We’re Showing:

This infographic lists the number of eight-hour workdays it takes to afford a monthly mortgage payment across U.S. states.

This calculation factors in:

• Per state median incomes and home prices
• 6% down payment
• 5.8% interest rate
• 30-year loan term

Data is sourced from Today's Homeowner.

Work, Work, Work… to Afford a Mortgage in Hawaii

Hawaiians have to work the most number of eight-hour days (33) in a month to afford mortgage payments in their state.

Not only is this more than the actual days in a month, this also implies that even working weekends is not enough for those making the median wage.

The median wage in the state is solidly middle of the pack ($23/hour), but median home values are nearing $1 million, which puts the mortgage payment at more than $6,000 a month.

And all of this work is just for the mortgage payment—without any leeway for other bills and expenses. 

Data & Methodology

Today’s Homeowner looked at the median hourly wage in each state as recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024.

They used Zillow to determine the median home listing price and factored in the national average mortgage interest rate (5.8%) for a 30-year-loan, along with a 6% average down payment.

From this calculated the average mortgage payment in each state and arrived at # hours of work required per month to pay it, which was then converted to workdays (assuming 8 hours per day). 

Check the linked data tab for all relevant figures.