Coinscribed Data Study
The Home Affordability Index: Income Needed to Buy in 30 US Cities
How much do you actually need to earn to buy a typical home where you live? We ran the numbers for 30 major US metros using the classic 28% rule, a 30-year fixed mortgage, and a 20% down payment. The methodology below is fully transparent, so every figure is reproducible.
Key findings
- San Jose, CA is the hardest metro on the list — a household needs about $392,028 a year to afford the median home.
- Detroit, MI is the most attainable, at roughly $57,497 a year.
- The gap between the most and least expensive metro is more than 7× — location, not just income, drives affordability.
Income needed to afford a median home, by metro
| Metro | Median home price | Monthly housing cost | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $1,500,000 | $9,147 | $392,028 |
| San Francisco, CA | $1,250,000 | $7,623 | $326,690 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $950,000 | $5,793 | $248,284 |
| San Diego, CA | $900,000 | $5,488 | $235,217 |
| Seattle, WA | $800,000 | $4,879 | $209,082 |
| New York, NY | $750,000 | $4,574 | $196,014 |
| Boston, MA | $700,000 | $4,269 | $182,946 |
| Denver, CO | $600,000 | $3,659 | $156,811 |
| Miami, FL | $575,000 | $3,506 | $150,277 |
| Washington, DC | $560,000 | $3,415 | $146,357 |
| Portland, OR | $550,000 | $3,354 | $143,744 |
| Austin, TX | $525,000 | $3,202 | $137,210 |
| Sacramento, CA | $500,000 | $3,049 | $130,676 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $450,000 | $2,744 | $117,608 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $440,000 | $2,683 | $114,995 |
| Nashville, TN | $435,000 | $2,653 | $113,688 |
| Dallas, TX | $400,000 | $2,439 | $104,541 |
| Atlanta, GA | $385,000 | $2,348 | $100,620 |
| Charlotte, NC | $380,000 | $2,317 | $99,314 |
| Tampa, FL | $375,000 | $2,287 | $98,007 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $350,000 | $2,134 | $91,473 |
| Chicago, IL | $340,000 | $2,073 | $88,860 |
| Houston, TX | $335,000 | $2,043 | $87,553 |
| Columbus, OH | $300,000 | $1,829 | $78,406 |
| San Antonio, TX | $290,000 | $1,768 | $75,792 |
| Kansas City, MO | $285,000 | $1,738 | $74,485 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $265,000 | $1,616 | $69,258 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $235,000 | $1,433 | $61,418 |
| Cleveland, OH | $230,000 | $1,403 | $60,111 |
| Detroit, MI | $220,000 | $1,342 | $57,497 |
Want to localize these numbers with your own price, rate, and down payment? Use the mortgage calculator or see How Much House Can I Afford?
Methodology
For each metro we start from an approximate median home price benchmark (as of 2026) and calculate the income a household would need so that total monthly housing cost stays within the 28% front-end rule. Every figure in the table is computed from these stated assumptions — treat the median prices as benchmarks and localize them with the calculator for your exact situation.
- • Down payment: 20% of the home price.
- • Mortgage: 30-year fixed at 6.5% APR.
- • Property tax + insurance: estimated at 1.25% of the home price per year, added to principal & interest.
- • Affordability rule: housing cost must be at or below 28% of gross monthly income (the classic 28% front-end rule).
- • Excluded: HOA dues, PMI, and metro-specific tax variation, so real requirements can be higher.
The monthly principal & interest uses the standard fixed-rate amortization formula — the same one behind the Coinscribed mortgage calculator, so the study and the tool always agree.
Use this study
Journalists and writers are welcome to cite the Coinscribed Home Affordability Index with a link back to this page. Suggested citation:
Coinscribed Home Affordability Index, https://coinscribed.com/home-affordability-index