This Map Ranks The Affordability Of Houses In Major U.S. Cities (Relative To Income)

Using median income data from the U.S. census and median home prices from Zillow, this map shows how many years of median income it costs to purchase a median house in each of these cities. Based on this calculation, Detroit is the most affordable city because the median home price is only 1.5 times the median income. The least affordable city is San Francisco where it takes 14.1 years of median income to pay for the median home price.

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This map shows the numbers of years of median income it would take to purchase a median home in major U.S. cities.

Anchorage

#7

• Median House Value: $292,200
• Median Household Income: $78,326
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 3.7x

Atlanta

#11

• Median House Value: $182,900
• Median Household Income: $47,527
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 3.8x

Baltimore

#3

• Median House Value: $122,700
• Median Household Income: $42,241
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 2.9x

Boston

#23

• Median House Value: $535,800
• Median Household Income: $55,777
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 9.6x

Chicago

#14

• Median House Value: $219,900
• Median Household Income: $48,522
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 4.5x

Cincinnati

#8

• Median House Value: $123,300
• Median Household Income: $33,604
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 3.7x

Cleveland

#2

• Median House Value: $56,100
• Median Household Income: $26,150
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 2.1x

Dallas

#9

• Median House Value: $162,300
• Median Household Income: $43,781
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 3.7x

Denver

#17

• Median House Value: $373,600
• Median Household Income: $53,637
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 7.0x

Detroit

#1

• Median House Value: $38,200
• Median Household Income: $25,764
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 1.5x

Honolulu

#22

• Median House Value: $666,500
• Median Household Income: $74,460
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 9.0x

Houston

#10

• Median House Value: $224,500
• Median Household Income: $46,187
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 3.7x

Los Angeles

#26

• Median House Value: $616,900
• Median Household Income: $50,205
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 12.3x

Miami

#24

• Median House Value: $302,100
• Median Household Income: $31,051
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 9.7x

Minneapolis

#15

• Median House Value: $231,700
• Median Household Income: $51,480
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 4.5x

New York City

#25

• Median House Value: $637,900
• Median Household Income: $53,373
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 12.0x

Orlando

#12

• Median House Value: $164,200
• Median Household Income: $42,318
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 3.9x

Philadelphia

#6

• Median House Value: $135,200
• Median Household Income: $38,253
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 3.5x

Pittsburgh

#4

• Median House Value: $121,500
• Median Household Income: $40,715
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 3.0x

Portland

#18

• Median House Value: $414,200
• Median Household Income: $55,003
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 7.5x

Sacramento

#16

• Median House Value: $290,600
• Median Household Income: $50,739
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 5.7x

San Diego

#20

• Median House Value: $555,400
• Median Household Income: $66,116
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 8.4x

San Francisco

#27

• Median House Value: $1,147,300
• Median Household Income: $81,294
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 14.1x

Seattle

#21

• Median House Value: $624,700
• Median Household Income: $70,594
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 8.8x

St. Louis

#5

• Median House Value: $117,800
• Median Household Income: $35,599
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 3.3x

Tampa

#13

• Median House Value: $181,100
• Median Household Income: $44,185
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 4.1x

Washington D.C.

#19

• Median House Value: $550,200
• Median Household Income: $70,848
• Amount of Income Needed to Purchase: 7.8x

Data from Zillow and U.S. Census Bureau