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Mapped: Home Price-to-Income Ratio of Large U.S. Cities
Visual Capitalist ^ | 10/18/2024 | Kayla Zhu

Posted on 10/18/2024 7:37:28 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Many Americans continue to find homeownership financially out of reach due to rising house prices and stagnant wages, among other contributing factors. But which U.S. cities are the least affordable?

One way to assess housing affordability is through the home price-to-income ratio, which measures the ratio of the median home price to the median household income.

This map, via Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu, shows the home price-to-income ratio of 54 large cities (population over one million) in the U.S. using data from Construction Coverage’s analysis of Zillow and U.S. Census Bureau data.

Housing Affordability Worst in Coastal U.S. Cities

Below, we show the home price-to-income ratio, median home price, and median household income, for 54 large cities in the United States of America.

RankCityStatePrice-to-incomeMedian home priceMedian household income
1Los AngelesCA12.5$953,501$76,135
2San JoseCA10.5$1,406,957$133,835
3Long BeachCA10.3$825,502$80,493
4San DiegoCA9.9$994,023$100,010
5New YorkNY9.8$732,594$74,694
6MiamiFL9.2$558,873$60,989
7San FranciscoCA9$1,236,502$136,692
8OaklandCA8.4$780,188$93,146
9BostonMA8.3$718,233$86,331
10SeattleWA7.3$847,419$115,409
11PortlandOR6.5$524,870$81,119
12DenverCO6.4$563,372$88,213
13TucsonAZ6.4$327,123$51,281
14WashingtonDC6$610,180$101,027
15AustinTX6$533,719$89,415
16NashvilleTN6$432,592$71,767
17AuroraCO5.9$483,228$81,395
18SacramentoCA5.9$472,412$80,254
19Las VegasNV5.9$407,969$68,905
20RaleighNC5.8$434,407$75,424
21FresnoCA5.8$370,798$64,196
22Colorado SpringsCO5.7$449,123$78,568
23PhoenixAZ5.6$422,001$75,969
24MesaAZ5.5$434,369$79,496
25CharlotteNC5.3$391,750$74,401
26BakersfieldCA5.3$380,862$72,017
27TampaFL5.3$375,241$71,089
28AlbuquerqueNM5$321,411$64,757
29Virginia BeachVA4.7$391,244$83,245
30AtlantaGA4.7$390,373$83,251
31DallasTX4.7$307,990$65,400
32New OrleansLA4.6$241,369$52,322
33ArlingtonTX4.5$315,222$70,433
34HoustonTX4.4$264,626$60,426
35San AntonioTX4.3$253,762$58,829
36MinneapolisMN4.2$312,872$74,473
37Fort WorthTX4.2$302,359$71,527
38JacksonvilleFL4.2$294,450$69,309
39El PasoTX4.1$216,673$52,645
40ChicagoIL4$284,818$70,386
41OmahaNE4$272,286$67,450
42ColumbusOH3.9$238,286$61,727
43MilwaukeeWI3.9$191,149$49,270
44PhiladelphiaPA3.8$215,593$56,517
45LouisvilleKY3.7$233,464$63,049
46Kansas CityMO3.7$230,526$62,175
47IndianapolisIN3.6$218,591$61,501
48TulsaOK3.6$194,784$54,040
49BaltimoreMD3.2$177,786$55,198
50Oklahoma CityOK3.1$198,826$63,713
51WichitaKS3.1$186,528$59,277
52MemphisTN2.9$144,347$50,622
53ClevelandOH2.7$100,734$37,351
54DetroitMI1.9$68,379$36,453

Cities on the West Coast, particularly in California, face the most significant housing affordability challenges.

The top four cities with the highest ratios are all in California, while other major West Coast cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland rank among the top 15.

The top five cities, including New York City, have a home price-to-income ratio more than double the national average of 4.7, making them highly unaffordable.

While median household income in cities like San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle are among the highest in the country, they also have some of the most expensive house prices in the country.

The Midwest and parts of the South have much lower ratios, including Detroit (1.9), Cleveland (2.1), and Memphis (3.1). Midwest cities consistently rank among the most affordable for housing and cost of living.

To learn more about the U.S. housing market, graphic that 10 fastest-growing housing markets in the U.S., based on their housing stock growth between 2013 and 2022.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Society
KEYWORDS: cost; housing; income; realestate
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To: ClearCase_guy
Cities are just a bad idea at this point.

That's why I live happily in nowhere vile.

21 posted on 10/18/2024 9:30:59 AM PDT by usurper (AI was born with a birth defect.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Most of Alabama is around 2.0.

The worst are Montgomery - 1.6 and Birmingham - 3.3, with the suburbs at 4.6. In Mobile, the home price to income ratio is 3.1, and Huntsville is 3.0.


22 posted on 10/18/2024 9:51:34 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (Repeal the Patriot Act; Abolish the DHS; reform FBI top to bottom!)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Define terrible. The majority of people would find what I think is ideal as terrible to them.

I love the country, middle of nowhere, no traffic, fields, forests, streams, rivers, lakes and nature without a lot of people.

I like few stores, gas stations, commercial enterprises and no multi-family housing.


23 posted on 10/18/2024 9:54:33 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (Repeal the Patriot Act; Abolish the DHS; reform FBI top to bottom!)
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To: Alas Babylon!

Where you live and where I live sound very similar. I like it very much.

What I was trying to say is that according to their chart of cities, Baltimore is relatively affordable. But I don’t want to live in Baltimore: it’s terrible. Also, Detroit is relatively affordable. But I don’t want to live in Detroit: it’s terrible. And on the other end of the spectrum, “glamorous” New York City is very unaffordable. But I also don’t want to live in New York City: it’s terrible.

I live on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. It’s wonderful. But, full disclosure: I’m in Massachusetts, but my quiet little patch of nothing is also unaffordable.


24 posted on 10/18/2024 10:02:27 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (My decisions about people are based almost entirely on skin color. I learned this from Democrats.)
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