Income you need to purchase a median-priced existing home
Fourth quarter 2017
How much salary do you need to earn in order to afford the principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments on a median-priced home in your metro area?
Terms of use: Source credit and hyperlink to HSH.com required.
| Metro Area | 30-Year FRM Quarterly average | Median Home Price | Home price change from year ago | Income needed with 20% down | Income needed with 10% down |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | 4.05% | $247,800 | 5.27% | $54,570.78 | $62,937.24 |
| Atlanta | 4.05% | $198,900 | 8.75% | $42,661.02 | $49,215.76 |
| Austin | 4.05% | $293,200 | 1.95% | $67,148.46 | $76,654.90 |
| Baltimore | 4.05% | $257,400 | 4.68% | $57,173.09 | $65,727.96 |
| Birmingham | 4.05% | $195,500 | 5.28% | $39,726.13 | $46,266.07 |
| Boston | 4.05% | $448,500 | 7.45% | $95,263.93 | $110,224.48 |
| Buffalo | 4.05% | $146,200 | 10.09% | $40,879.07 | $45,661.65 |
| Charlotte | 4.05% | $223,500 | 8.60% | $46,054.89 | $53,429.48 |
| Chicago | 4.05% | $236,800 | 4.55% | $59,837.93 | $67,658.00 |
| Cincinnati | 4.05% | $158,900 | 5.09% | $38,149.02 | $39,721.42 |
| Cleveland | 4.05% | $140,400 | 7.18% | $35,656.10 | $40,274.99 |
| Columbus | 4.05% | $190,300 | 11.09% | $44,176.96 | $50,480.62 |
| Dallas | 4.05% | $246,100 | 6.72% | $59,237.26 | $67,153.47 |
| Denver | 4.05% | $414,400 | 8.60% | $79,180.65 | $92,768.45 |
| Detroit | 4.05% | $180,400 | 9.57% | $42,039.53 | $48,037.52 |
| Hartford | 4.05% | $223,800 | -0.22% | $59,347.15 | $66,678.30 |
| Houston | 4.05% | $229,800 | 2.36% | $56,110.20 | $63,476.07 |
| Indianapolis | 4.05% | $172,400 | 8.09% | $36,593.56 | $42,210.72 |
| Jacksonville | 4.05% | $230,500 | 7.96% | $50,957.61 | $58,954.26 |
| Kansas City | 4.05% | $193,800 | 8.15% | $43,756.90 | $50,100.16 |
| Las Vegas | 4.05% | $266,800 | 12.96% | $51,792.46 | $60,800.42 |
| Los Angeles | 4.05% | $553,300 | 9.22% | $107,357.60 | $127,869.95 |
| Louisville | 4.05% | $172,300 | 5.06% | $37,519.45 | $43,186.81 |
| Memphis | 4.05% | $168,300 | 6.52% | $37,232.68 | $42,739.99 |
| Miami | 4.05% | $335,000 | 7.89% | $71,244.74 | $82,769.61 |
| Milwaukee | 4.05% | $234,300 | 3.22% | $55,047.67 | $62,883.33 |
| Minneapolis | 4.05% | $250,200 | 6.38% | $55,198.14 | $63,656.35 |
| Nashville | 4.05% | $250,500 | 8.25% | $50,286.83 | $58,569.45 |
| New Orleans | 4.05% | $200,000 | 7.12% | $43,585.02 | $50,248.33 |
| New York City | 4.05% | $395,900 | 3.56% | $95,662.74 | $108,875.92 |
| Oklahoma City | 4.05% | $152,900 | 0.39% | $36,460.97 | $41,201.90 |
| Orlando | 4.05% | $250,000 | 9.79% | $54,690.21 | $63,345.23 |
| Philadelphia | 4.05% | $224,600 | 1.35% | $54,028.89 | $61,504.91 |
| Phoenix | 4.05% | $252,600 | 7.22% | $49,232.65 | $57,614.74 |
| Pittsburgh | 4.05% | $135,000 | 3.85% | $33,509.71 | $37,960.57 |
| Portland | 4.05% | $380,400 | 7.25% | $75,710.27 | $88,532.27 |
| Providence | 4.05% | $278,700 | 5.73% | $65,759.96 | $74,941.12 |
| Raleigh | 4.05% | $264,000 | 8.20% | $53,777.80 | $62,519.80 |
| Richmond | 4.05% | $245,000 | 3.33% | $50,027.55 | $58,174.47 |
| Riverside/San Bernardino | 4.05% | $340,000 | 7.02% | $68,035.97 | $79,486.80 |
| Sacramento | 4.05% | $349,900 | 9.69% | $71,605.54 | $83,390.63 |
| Salt Lake City | 4.05% | $315,100 | 11.70% | $60,267.70 | $70,817.12 |
| San Antonio | 4.05% | $217,800 | 5.57% | $52,773.38 | $59,734.10 |
| San Diego | 4.20% | $610,000 | 7.39% | $117,592.32 | $139,563.41 |
| San Francisco | 4.20% | $920,000 | 10.84% | $176,121.44 | $209,272.69 |
| San Jose | 4.20% | $1,270,000 | 26.37% | $235,646.36 | $278,971.09 |
| Seattle | 4.05% | $471,700 | 11.43% | $92,677.25 | $108,535.38 |
| St Louis | 4.05% | $166,700 | 3.67% | $39,347.77 | $44,776.06 |
| Tampa | 4.05% | $223,000 | 8.78% | $49,322.55 | $57,065.98 |
| Virginia Beach | 4.05% | $220,000 | 3.63% | $47,117.81 | $54,420.66 |
| Washington, D.C. | 4.05% | $397,100 | 3.33% | $82,949.63 | $96,353.33 |
Methodology and Data Sources HSH.com calculates the annual before-tax income required to cover the mortgage's principal, interest, property tax and homeowner's insurance payment. We use standard 28 percent "front-end" debt ratios and a 20 percent down payment subtracted from median-home-price data to arrive at our figures. Downpayments of less than 20% incur both higher mortgage amounts and require private mortgage insurance, which increases the income required.
In these calculations, we utilize metropolitan area median home prices from the National Association of Realtors Metropolitan Median Area Prices series. For mortgage rates, we create a quarterly average of zero-point equivalent mortgage rates from survey data published by Freddie Mac (conforming loans) and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (jumbo loans) for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.
The average mortgage rate information we use is for purchase-money mortgages made to borrowers with good to excellent credit.
Our calculations incorporate metropolitan-area average property tax information using data made available from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). We the latest available ACS 5-year estimates. Metropolitan area definitions are from the Office of Management and Budget and are revised periodically.
For homeowner's insurance costs, we use the latest available data for statewide average homeowner insurance premium costs from the Insurance Information Institute.
Note: Property taxes and insurance costs are specific to an individual property and will be different for any single property in which you may have an interest. Also, if other personal debts exceed 8 percent of one's given monthly gross income this may increase the income needed to qualify.
PMI costs used in our calculations are for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. For conforming loan amounts, these are costs for FICO scores of greater than 740 but less than 759; for jumbo loan amounts, these costs are for FICO scores of 760 or greater.