Personal Finance
Mapped: The Salary You Need to Buy a Home in 50 U.S. Cities
This is the Salary You Need to Buy a Home in 50 U.S. Cities
Depending on where you live, owning a home may seem like a far off dream or it could be fairly realistic. In New York City, for example, a person needs to be making at least six figures to buy a home, but in Cleveland you could do it with just over $45,000 a year.
This visual, using data from Home Sweet Home, maps out the annual salary you’d need for home ownership in 50 different U.S. cities.
Note: The map above refers to entire metro areas and uses Q1 2022 data on median home prices. The necessary salary was calculated by the source, looking at the base cost of principal, interest, property tax, and homeowner’s insurance.
Home Ownership Across the U.S.
San Jose is by far the most expensive city when it comes to purchasing a home. A person would need to earn over $330,000 annually to pay off the mortgage at a monthly rate of $7,718.
Here’s a closer look at the numbers:
Rank | Metro Area | Median Home Price | Salary Needed |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | San Jose | $1,875,000 | $330,758 |
#2 | San Francisco | $1,380,000 | $249,685 |
#3 | San Diego | $905,000 | $166,828 |
#4 | Los Angeles | $792,500 | $149,127 |
#5 | Seattle | $746,200 | $140,768 |
#6 | Boston | $639,000 | $130,203 |
#7 | New York City | $578,100 | $129,459 |
#8 | Denver | $662,200 | $121,888 |
#9 | Austin | $540,700 | $114,679 |
#10 | Washington, D.C. | $553,000 | $110,327 |
#11 | Portland | $570,500 | $109,267 |
#12 | Riverside/San Bernardino | $560,000 | $106,192 |
#13 | Sacramento | $545,000 | $105,934 |
#14 | Miami | $530,000 | $103,744 |
#15 | Salt Lake City | $556,900 | $100,970 |
#16 | Providence | $406,700 | $88,477 |
#17 | Phoenix | $474,500 | $86,295 |
#18 | Las Vegas | $461,100 | $84,116 |
#19 | Raleigh | $439,100 | $83,561 |
#20 | Dallas | $365,400 | $81,165 |
#21 | Orlando | $399,900 | $79,573 |
#22 | Chicago | $325,400 | $76,463 |
#23 | Tampa | $379,900 | $75,416 |
#24 | Houston | $330,800 | $74,673 |
#25 | Minneapolis | $355,800 | $74,145 |
#26 | Baltimore | $350,900 | $73,803 |
#27 | Nashville | $387,200 | $73,502 |
#28 | Jacksonville | $365,900 | $73,465 |
#29 | Hartford | $291,000 | $73,165 |
#30 | Charlotte | $379,900 | $72,348 |
#31 | San Antonio | $321,100 | $70,901 |
#32 | Atlanta | $350,300 | $69,619 |
#33 | Philadelphia | $297,900 | $69,569 |
#34 | Richmond | $354,500 | $68,629 |
#35 | Milwaukee | $298,800 | $65,922 |
#36 | Kansas City | $287,400 | $60,507 |
#37 | Columbus | $274,300 | $59,321 |
#38 | Virginia Beach | $289,900 | $59,245 |
#39 | New Orleans | $281,100 | $57,853 |
#40 | Birmingham | $289,500 | $55,662 |
#41 | Indianapolis | $271,600 | $53,586 |
#42 | Memphis | $259,300 | $52,691 |
#43 | Cincinnati | $244,300 | $51,840 |
#44 | Buffalo | $202,300 | $51,525 |
#45 | Detroit | $224,300 | $50,302 |
#46 | St Louis | $216,700 | $48,988 |
#47 | Louisville | $235,400 | $48,121 |
#48 | Cleveland | $192,700 | $45,448 |
#49 | Oklahoma City | $198,200 | $45,299 |
#50 | Pittsburgh | $185,700 | $42,858 |
Perhaps surprisingly, Boston residents need slightly higher earnings than New Yorkers to buy a home. The same is also true in Seattle and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, some of the cheapest cities to start buying up real estate in are Oklahoma City and Cleveland.
As of April, the rate of home ownership in the U.S. is 65%. This number represents the share of homes that are occupied by the owner, rather than rented out or vacant.
The American Dream Home
As of the time of this data (Q1 2022), the national yearly fixed mortgage rate sat at 4% and median home price at $368,200. This put the salary needed to buy a home at almost $76,000—the median national household income falls almost $9,000 below that.
But what kind of homes are people looking to purchase? Depending on where you live the type of home and square footage you can get will be very different.
In New York City, for example, there are fairly few stand-alone, single-family houses in the traditional sense—only around 4,000 are ever on the market. People in the Big Apple tend to buy condominiums or multi-family units.
Additionally, if you’re looking for luxury, not even seven figures will get you much in the big cities. In Miami, a million dollars will only buy you 833 square feet of prime real estate.
One thing is for sure: the typical American dream home of the big house with a yard and white picket fence is more attainable in smaller metro areas with ample suburbs.
Buying vs. Renting
The U.S. median household income is $67,500, meaning that today the typical family could only afford a home in about 15 of the 50 metro areas highlighted above, including New Orleans, Buffalo, and Indianapolis.
With the income gap widening in the U.S., the rental market remains a more attractive option for many, especially as prices are finally tapering off. The national median rent price was down nearly 3% from June to July for two-bedroom apartments.
At the end of the day, buying a home can be an important investment and may provide a sense of security, but it will be much easier to do in certain types of cities.
Healthcare
Ranked: The Best U.S. States for Retirement
Getting ready for retirement? See which states score the highest in terms of affordability, quality of life, and health care.

Ranked: The Best U.S. States for Retirement
What is the most important aspect of retirement planning?
If you said finances, you’re probably right. But have you ever thought about where the best place is to retire? Being strategic about location can make a big impact on your quality of life, and perhaps help your savings go just a bit further.
To help break it down, we’ve visualized data from personal finance platform, WalletHub, which ranked the best U.S. states for retirement as of 2023.
Data and Methodology
WalletHub ranked each state using 47 metrics across three dimensions.
- Affordability (7 metrics worth 40 points)
- Quality of Life (22 metrics worth 30 points)
- Health Care (18 metrics worth 30 points)
Here are some examples of what each dimension measures:
- Affordability: Cost of living and taxation
- Quality of Life: Quality of elder-abuse protections and crime rates
- Health Care: Number of health professionals per capita and life expectancy
Visit the source for the full list of metrics.
The final scores (visualized as the bars in the infographic above) represent each state’s weighted average across all metrics. See below for more comprehensive results.
Rank | State | Score | Affordability (rank) | Quality of Life (rank) | Health Care (rank) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Virginia | 57.6 | 16 | 11 | 11 |
2T | Florida | 57.4 | 9 | 4 | 28 |
2T | Colorado | 57.4 | 14 | 27 | 5 |
4 | Wyoming | 55.6 | 5 | 9 | 38 |
5 | Delaware | 55.5 | 6 | 33 | 18 |
6 | New Hampshire | 55.0 | 31 | 5 | 7 |
7 | South Dakota | 53.6 | 25 | 30 | 9 |
8 | Minnesota | 53.5 | 40 | 2 | 1 |
9 | Idaho | 53.2 | 15 | 17 | 31 |
10 | North Dakota | 53.0 | 22 | 25 | 20 |
11 | Utah | 52.7 | 20 | 24 | 26 |
12 | North Carolina | 52.6 | 12 | 23 | 35 |
13 | Missouri | 52.4 | 17 | 28 | 32 |
14 | Pennsylvania | 52.3 | 36 | 3 | 12 |
15T | Montana | 52.1 | 24 | 15 | 29 |
15T | South Carolina | 52.1 | 4 | 38 | 39 |
17 | Massachusetts | 51.9 | 47 | 1 | 2 |
18 | California | 51.6 | 32 | 19 | 10 |
19 | Alaska | 51.3 | 26 | 36 | 8 |
20 | Arizona | 51.1 | 18 | 35 | 25 |
21 | Wisconsin | 50.9 | 34 | 14 | 17 |
22 | Alabama | 50.7 | 1 | 44 | 50 |
23 | Ohio | 49.8 | 27 | 8 | 37 |
24 | Hawaii | 49.7 | 38 | 29 | 4 |
25 | Nebraska | 49.3 | 37 | 16 | 15 |
26 | Iowa | 48.9 | 35 | 12 | 24 |
27 | Georgia | 48.6 | 7 | 40 | 42 |
28 | Michigan | 48.0 | 29 | 18 | 36 |
29T | Maine | 47.5 | 43 | 6 | 13 |
29T | New Mexico | 47.5 | 21 | 46 | 30 |
31 | Indiana | 47.3 | 23 | 31 | 40 |
32T | Nevada | 47.2 | 11 | 42 | 41 |
32T | Tennessee | 47.2 | 2 | 48 | 45 |
34T | Vermont | 47.1 | 48 | 7 | 6 |
34T | Connecticut | 47.1 | 44 | 26 | 3 |
36 | Kansas | 46.8 | 30 | 32 | 33 |
37 | West Virginia | 46.4 | 3 | 43 | 49 |
38 | Oregon | 46.1 | 41 | 21 | 21 |
39 | Texas | 45.9 | 28 | 37 | 34 |
40 | Rhode Island | 45.0 | 39 | 39 | 14 |
41 | Arkansas | 44.7 | 8 | 49 | 44 |
42 | Maryland | 44.6 | 46 | 20 | 19 |
43 | Washington | 44.5 | 45 | 13 | 23 |
44 | Illinois | 44.3 | 42 | 22 | 27 |
45 | Louisiana | 43.9 | 13 | 45 | 47 |
46 | New York | 43.7 | 50 | 10 | 16 |
47 | Oklahoma | 43.6 | 19 | 47 | 43 |
48 | Mississippi | 40.8 | 10 | 50 | 48 |
49 | New Jersey | 40.2 | 49 | 34 | 22 |
50 | Kentucky | 38.8 | 33 | 41 | 46 |
According to this methodology, Virginia is currently the best state for retirement. Although the Southeastern state does not excel in any one dimension, it scores consistently well across all three to create a very balanced retirement profile.
This gives it a slight advantage over second place Florida, which excels in quality of life and affordability, but falls further behind in terms of health care. Third-placed Colorado is a mirror of Florida, offering excellent health care but a lower quality of life in comparison.
How to Interpret These Results
It’s important to remember that this ranking is purely based on data and the methodology above, and may not be tailored to your individual preferences.
For example, if you believe that health services will be very important during retirement, you may rank Minnesota (#1 in terms of health care) much higher than eighth place.
You may notice that prioritizing one dimension will often come at a trade-off in others. Looking at Minnesota once more, we can see that the state is also one of America’s most expensive.
Looking to retire outside of the U.S.? Check out this graphic on the top 25 countries to retire in.
-
Wealth2 weeks ago
Ranked: The World’s Top 50 Endowment Funds
-
Markets4 weeks ago
Visualized: Real Interest Rates by Country
-
Politics2 weeks ago
Charting the Rise of America’s Debt Ceiling
-
Money3 weeks ago
Comparing the Speed of Interest Rate Hikes (1988-2023)
-
Misc2 weeks ago
Ranked: The Cities with the Most Skyscrapers in 2023
-
War3 weeks ago
Map Explainer: Sudan
-
Urbanization2 weeks ago
Ranked: The World’s Biggest Steel Producers, by Country
-
Travel3 weeks ago
Visualized: The World’s Busiest Airports, by Passenger Count