Original data study · June 2026 data
The Income Needed to Afford the Typical Home in America's 50 Largest Metros
Owning the typical US home, valued at $372,995, costs about $3,310 a month once the mortgage, property tax, insurance, and upkeep are all counted, which generally takes $141,900 of household income under the 28% guideline. The typical asking rent is $1,965, so owning runs about 68% more per month than renting nationally. Across the 50 largest metros the income requirement ranges from $92,000 in Pittsburgh, PA to $581,600 in San Jose, CA.
By Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA · Teaching Professor of Finance, Santa Clara University · Home values and rents through June 2026
Every figure assumes a 20% down payment already in hand, which is $74,599 on the typical US home and over $316,792 in San Jose, CA. That is a separate savings hurdle the income figures do not capture, and a smaller down payment raises the requirement further through a larger loan and mortgage insurance.
All 50 metros at a glance
Income needed on the full-cost basis, most to least expensive; the dashed line marks the national figure.
The full table, with rents beside every metro
Each metro links to the affordability tables for the nearest income, where the same math runs at other rates and down payments. The last column compares the full monthly cost of owning against the typical asking rent; it is a cash-flow comparison only, since part of an owner's payment builds equity.
| # | Metro | Typical home value | Monthly cost, all-in | Income needed | Typical rent | Owning vs renting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose, CA | $1,583,961 | $13,571 | $581,600 | $3,729 | +264% |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $1,142,320 | $9,829 | $421,200 | $3,301 | +198% |
| 3 | Los Angeles, CA | $968,028 | $8,352 | $358,000 | $2,927 | +185% |
| 4 | San Diego, CA | $940,998 | $8,123 | $348,100 | $2,991 | +172% |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $746,595 | $6,476 | $277,500 | $3,210 | +102% |
| 6 | Seattle, WA | $745,263 | $6,465 | $277,100 | $2,269 | +185% |
| 7 | New York, NY | $735,003 | $6,378 | $273,300 | $3,573 | +79% |
| 8 | Riverside, CA | $586,047 | $5,116 | $219,200 | $2,539 | +101% |
| 9 | Washington, DC | $584,684 | $5,104 | $218,700 | $2,448 | +109% |
| 10 | Sacramento, CA | $584,122 | $5,099 | $218,500 | $2,308 | +121% |
| 11 | Denver, CO | $572,682 | $5,002 | $214,400 | $1,930 | +159% |
| 12 | Salt Lake City, UT | $567,346 | $4,957 | $212,500 | $1,638 | +203% |
| 13 | Portland, OR | $553,092 | $4,836 | $207,300 | $1,805 | +168% |
| 14 | Providence, RI | $532,191 | $4,659 | $199,700 | $2,172 | +115% |
| 15 | Miami, FL | $476,598 | $4,188 | $179,500 | $2,695 | +55% |
| 16 | Nashville, TN | $457,809 | $4,029 | $172,700 | $1,810 | +123% |
| 17 | Phoenix, AZ | $447,054 | $3,938 | $168,800 | $1,733 | +127% |
| 18 | Raleigh, NC | $438,138 | $3,862 | $165,500 | $1,689 | +129% |
| 19 | Las Vegas, NV | $430,436 | $3,797 | $162,700 | $1,748 | +117% |
| 20 | Austin, TX | $426,944 | $3,768 | $161,500 | $1,653 | +128% |
| 21 | Baltimore, MD | $407,614 | $3,604 | $154,400 | $1,936 | +86% |
| 22 | Hartford, CT | $406,788 | $3,597 | $154,100 | $2,013 | +79% |
| 23 | Richmond, VA | $399,562 | $3,536 | $151,500 | $1,772 | +100% |
| 24 | Minneapolis, MN | $395,726 | $3,503 | $150,100 | $1,727 | +103% |
| 25 | Philadelphia, PA | $394,762 | $3,495 | $149,800 | $1,928 | +81% |
| 26 | Milwaukee, WI | $394,038 | $3,489 | $149,500 | $1,552 | +125% |
| 27 | Charlotte, NC | $390,942 | $3,463 | $148,400 | $1,750 | +98% |
| 28 | Orlando, FL | $387,301 | $3,432 | $147,100 | $1,972 | +74% |
| 29 | Atlanta, GA | $383,050 | $3,396 | $145,500 | $1,854 | +83% |
| 30 | Virginia Beach, VA | $376,711 | $3,342 | $143,200 | $1,878 | +78% |
| 31 | Dallas, TX | $366,701 | $3,257 | $139,600 | $1,673 | +95% |
| 32 | Tampa, FL | $361,156 | $3,210 | $137,600 | $2,020 | +59% |
| 33 | Chicago, IL | $359,888 | $3,199 | $137,100 | $2,275 | +41% |
| 34 | Jacksonville, FL | $353,742 | $3,147 | $134,900 | $1,708 | +84% |
| 35 | Columbus, OH | $335,357 | $2,992 | $128,200 | $1,528 | +96% |
| 36 | Kansas City, MO | $331,714 | $2,961 | $126,900 | $1,545 | +92% |
| 37 | Cincinnati, OH | $313,303 | $2,805 | $120,200 | $1,583 | +77% |
| 38 | Houston, TX | $308,933 | $2,768 | $118,600 | $1,648 | +68% |
| 39 | Indianapolis, IN | $297,385 | $2,670 | $114,400 | $1,558 | +71% |
| 40 | Buffalo, NY | $294,992 | $2,650 | $113,600 | $1,461 | +81% |
| 41 | Louisville, KY | $284,065 | $2,557 | $109,600 | $1,385 | +85% |
| 42 | San Antonio, TX | $280,370 | $2,526 | $108,200 | $1,416 | +78% |
| 43 | St. Louis, MO | $280,016 | $2,523 | $108,100 | $1,459 | +73% |
| 44 | Detroit, MI | $271,675 | $2,452 | $105,100 | $1,518 | +62% |
| 45 | New Orleans, LA | $264,891 | $2,394 | $102,600 | $1,617 | +48% |
| 46 | Birmingham, AL | $263,726 | $2,385 | $102,200 | $1,462 | +63% |
| 47 | Cleveland, OH | $255,598 | $2,316 | $99,200 | $1,474 | +57% |
| 48 | Memphis, TN | $247,919 | $2,251 | $96,500 | $1,435 | +57% |
| 49 | Oklahoma City, OK | $247,745 | $2,249 | $96,400 | $1,393 | +61% |
| 50 | Pittsburgh, PA | $235,539 | $2,146 | $92,000 | $1,523 | +41% |
| United States | $372,995 | $3,310 | $141,900 | $1,965 | +68% |
Shading marks the three most and three least expensive metros by required income. A high owning-vs-renting premium does not by itself mean renting wins; the rent vs buy calculator weighs equity, appreciation, and investing the difference.
Methodology, in full
Home values are the Zillow Research, Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), mid-tier, smoothed, seasonally adjusted and rents are the Zillow Research, Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, seasonally adjusted, all homes and apartments, both for June 2026 and both published for public use. The monthly cost is the FULL cost of ownership, not just the mortgage. On the typical US home that is $2,378 of principal, interest, property tax, and insurance, plus $932 of maintenance, giving $3,310 in total. The components: a 20% down payment with a 6.5% 30-year fixed mortgage on the rest, property tax at 1.1% of the home value per year, $1,800 of annual homeowners insurance, and maintenance and upkeep at 3% of the home value per year, a deliberately conservative allowance that covers repairs, replacement reserves, and the costs owners meet that renters do not. Required income caps the full monthly cost at 28% of gross income. The mortgage payment uses the standard amortization formula, and the same code is tested against hand-computed answers before every release.
On the narrower mortgage-only (PITI) basis many studies use, the US figure would be about $101,900 rather than $141,900; the gap is the upkeep that homeownership actually requires. Other limitations worth naming: property tax, insurance, and maintenance costs vary widely by metro and this model holds the rates constant, so high-tax states are understated and low-tax states overstated at the margin; the 6.5% rate is a reference, not a live quote; and lenders also weigh total debt, so a household with car or student loan payments needs more income than the table shows. Rents are asking rents across houses and apartments, which typically run above the average rent people currently pay.
Cite or reuse this data
The full table is free to cite or republish with a link to this page. Suggested credit: "Analysis by Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA, Teaching Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University, based on Zillow Research data." Journalists are welcome to request variants (different rates, down payments, maintenance assumptions, or metros) by email.
Download the results (CSV)Run your own numbers
The house affordability tables run the income-to-price math for any income from $40,000 to $1,000,000, the mortgage calculator prices any specific home with PMI and an amortization chart, and the rent vs buy calculator turns the rent comparison above into a full wealth answer, including the return on investing the difference.
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