The salary you must earn to buy a home in the 50 largest metros Updated on: Jun 07, 2022
How much salary do you need to earn in order to afford the principal, interest, tax and insurance payments on a median-priced home in your metro area?
For our calculations, HSH.com uses the National Association of Realtors’ 2022 first-quarter data for median home prices, national mortgage rate data derived from weekly surveys by Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America for 30-year fixed rate mortgages and available property tax and homeowners insurance costs to determine the annual salary it takes to afford the base cost of owning a home (principal, interest, property tax and homeowner's insurance, or PITI) in the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas.
We used standard 28 percent "front-end" debt ratios and a 20 percent down payment subtracted from the NAR’s median-home-price data to arrive at our figures. We've incorporated available information on property taxes and homeowner’s insurance costs to more accurately reflect the income needed in a given market.
At the bottom of each metro area slide, we provide data to show how the required salary would change if you were to make a 10 percent down payment instead of a 20 percent. As we work from a fixed median home price, a smaller down payment means both a larger loan amount and the need to pay for private mortgage insurance, which in turn means even higher salary requirements.
Here’s a current look at how much salary you would need to earn in order to afford the principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments on a median-priced home in your metro area.
National data and all 50 metros, sorted by salary
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?
| Metro Area | 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate | % Change from 4Q21 | Median Home Price | % Change from 4Q21 | Monthly Payment (PITI) | Salary Needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | 4.01% | +0.76% | $368,200 | +2.08% | $1,761.85 | $75,508 |
| San Jose, CA | 3.86% | +0.50% | $1,875,000 | +11.94% | $7,717.69 | $330,758 |
| San Francisco, CA | 3.86% | +0.50% | $1,380,000 | +5.34% | $5,825.98 | $249,685 |
| San Diego, CA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $905,000 | +7.10% | $3,892.66 | $166,828 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $792,500 | -0.68% | $3,479.64 | $149,127 |
| Seattle, WA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $746,200 | +6.60% | $3,284.59 | $140,768 |
| Boston, MA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $639,000 | +0.52% | $3,038.08 | $130,203 |
| New York, NY | 4.01% | +0.76% | $578,100 | +1.99% | $3,020.70 | $129,459 |
| Denver, CO | 4.01% | +0.76% | $662,200 | +7.22% | $2,844.04 | $121,887 |
| Austin, TX | 4.01% | +0.76% | $540,700 | +11.39% | $2,675.85 | $114,679 |
| Washington, D.C. | 4.01% | +0.76% | $553,000 | +2.90% | $2,574.30 | $110,327 |
| Portland, OR | 4.01% | +0.76% | $570,500 | +4.35% | $2,549.56 | $109,267 |
| Riverside/San Bernardino, CA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $560,000 | +5.66% | $2,477.82 | $106,192 |
| Sacramento, CA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $545,000 | +5.83% | $2,471.80 | $105,934 |
| Miami, FL | 4.01% | +0.76% | $530,000 | +6.00% | $2,420.69 | $103,744 |
| Salt Lake, UT | 4.01% | +0.76% | $556,900 | +10.12% | $2,355.97 | $100,970 |
| Providence, RI | 4.01% | +0.76% | $406,700 | +1.55% | $2,064.47 | $88,477 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 4.01% | +0.76% | $474,500 | +6.44% | $2,013.54 | $86,295 |
| Las Vegas, NV | 4.01% | +0.76% | $461,100 | +7.63% | $1,962.72 | $84,116 |
| Raleigh, NC | 4.01% | +0.76% | $439,100 | +4.80% | $1,949.76 | $83,561 |
| Dallas, TX | 4.01% | +0.76% | $365,400 | +4.40% | $1,893.85 | $81,165 |
| Orlando, FL | 4.01% | +0.76% | $399,900 | +5.24% | $1,856.69 | $79,573 |
| Chicago, IL | 4.01% | +0.76% | $325,400 | +2.29% | $1,784.14 | $76,463 |
| Tampa, FL | 4.01% | +0.76% | $379,900 | +7.01% | $1,759.71 | $75,416 |
| Houston, TX | 4.01% | +0.76% | $330,800 | +4.39% | $1,742.37 | $74,673 |
| Minneapolis, MN | 4.01% | +0.76% | $355,800 | +1.08% | $1,730.06 | $74,145 |
| Baltimore, MN | 4.01% | +0.76% | $350,900 | -0.82% | $1,722.08 | $73,803 |
| Nashville, TN | 4.01% | +0.76% | $387,200 | +4.06% | $1,715.04 | $73,502 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 4.01% | +0.76% | $365,900 | +5.45% | $1,714.18 | $73,465 |
| Hartford, IN | 4.01% | +0.76% | $291,000 | -1.36% | $1,707.18 | $73,165 |
| Charlotte, NC | 4.01% | +0.76% | $379,900 | +2.59% | $1,688.13 | $72,348 |
| San Antonio, TX | 4.01% | +0.76% | $321,100 | +2.75% | $1,654.37 | $70,901 |
| Atlanta, GA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $350,300 | +3.18% | $1,624.43 | $69,619 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $297,900 | -2.84% | $1,623.29 | $69,569 |
| Richmond, VA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $354,500 | +2.16% | $1,601.34 | $68,629 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 4.01% | +0.76% | $298,800 | -3.55% | $1,538.18 | $65,922 |
| Kansas, KS | 4.01% | +0.76% | $287,400 | +2.86% | $1,411.83 | $60,507 |
| Columbus, OH | 4.01% | +0.76% | $274,300 | +0.55% | $1,384.16 | $59,321 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $289,900 | +1.72% | $1,382.39 | $59,245 |
| New Orleans, LA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $281,100 | +5.72% | $1,349.91 | $57,853 |
| Birmingham, AL | 4.01% | +0.76% | $289,500 | +4.82% | $1,298.78 | $55,662 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 4.01% | +0.76% | $271,600 | +0.93% | $1,250.33 | $53,586 |
| Memphis, TN | 4.01% | +0.76% | $259,300 | -0.54% | $1,229.46 | $52,691 |
| Cincinnati, OH | 4.01% | +0.76% | $244,300 | -0.08% | $1,209.60 | $51,840 |
| Buffalo, NY | 4.01% | +0.76% | $202,300 | -6.65% | $1,202.25 | $51,525 |
| Detroit, MI | 4.01% | +0.76% | $224,300 | -6.85% | $1,173.71 | $50,302 |
| St. Louis, MO | 4.01% | +0.76% | $216,700 | -1.81% | $1,143.06 | $48,988 |
| Louisville, KY | 4.01% | +0.76% | $235,400 | -2.77% | $1,122.82 | $48,121 |
| Cleveland, OH | 4.01% | +0.76% | $192,700 | -1.53% | $1,060.46 | $45,448 |
| Oklahoma, OK | 4.01% | +0.76% | $198,200 | -1.64% | $1,056.99 | $45,299 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 4.01% | +0.76% | $185,700 | -2.26% | $1,000.02 | $42,858 |