The Salary Needed to Buy a Home in 50 U.S. Cities 🏠

What We’re Showing

This graphic shows the salary needed to buy a home in the 50 largest metropolitan areas in America. 

These calculations determine the salary needed to afford the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance payments on a median-priced home in the corresponding metro area as of May 2024. Figures reflect homes with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and a 20% down payment, based on analysis from HSH.com. 

Key Takeaways

• As the most expensive city overall, residents in San Jose, California require a monthly payment of $10,824 for a median-priced home in 2024—more than quadruple the national average
• In second place is the San Francisco metro area, where median home sale prices have jumped 14% year-over-year as of Q1 2024
• Since 2020, the average salary Americans need to afford a home has skyrocketed from $59,000 to over $100,000
• Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis are the most affordable metropolitans in the dataset, where a salary under $70,000 can buy a median-priced home