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Key Takeaways
- Experts recommend spending no more than 30% of your income on housing costs.
- We’ve calculated the income needed to afford a median home in the 50 largest metros, using average mortgage rates, taxes, and insurance.
- Pittsburgh leads the list of 13 affordable cities for households earning less than $100,000.
- Earn more than $100,000 or even $150,000? See which of the 50 biggest metros are affordable at different income levels.
The full article continues below these offers from our partners.
Is This Home in Your Budget? Here’s How to Find Out
When deciding to buy a home, it’s essential to assess whether the costs align with your income. Fortunately, a simple rule of thumb can help guide you: Aim to spend no more than 30% of your gross income on housing costs, a recommendation the federal government has made since the 1980s.
But keep in mind that this guideline covers not just your mortgage payment but also property taxes and homeowners’ insurance, which can vary widely by location. If you’re putting down less than 20% on your home purchase, you’ll also need to factor in private mortgage insurance (PMI).
For instance, if your combined annual salary is $90,000, that’s $7,500 in gross monthly income. At 30% of that, you’d have $2,250 to spend on your mortgage payment and one month’s taxes, insurance, and PMI (if applicable). If you can stay below that $2,250 threshold to give yourself some financial cushion, that’s even better.
Find the Best Cities for Your Budget: Income Breakdown for Homebuyers
To determine the annual income needed to afford the median home in various parts of the country, we’ve crunched the numbers for all 50 of the largest U.S. metro areas. For median home prices, we’ve used Realtor.com’s latest housing report.
For mortgage rates, we’ve drawn on the Zillow Mortgage API’s latest average for 30-year new purchase loans. This is based on a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80% or less (meaning a down payment of at least 20%) and an applicant credit score range of 680–739. If you put down less or your credit score falls below this range, your mortgage rate may be higher.
To estimate property taxes, we applied the average property tax rate for each state compiled by the Tax Foundation. For homeowners’ insurance, we used a monthly national estimate for $300,000 in dwelling coverage from Insurify.
In our calculations below, we haven’t included a PMI estimate, as it doesn’t apply to all buyers. However, if PMI is required for your loan, be sure to factor in that additional cost.
Cities Where You Can Afford the Median Home on Less Than $100,000
| Metro area (sorted by lowest monthly housing expense) | July median listing price | Current 30-year mortgage average | Mortgage payment | Property tax per month | Insurance per month | Total monthly housing expense | Annual income needed to keep housing cost at 30% or less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh, PA | $252,278 | 6.70% | $1,302 | $250 | $215 | $1,767 | $70,700 |
| Cleveland, OH | $268,825 | 6.74% | $1,393 | $293 | $215 | $1,902 | $76,077 |
| Birmingham, AL | $309,500 | 6.75% | $1,606 | $93 | $215 | $1,914 | $76,551 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $280,000 | 6.74% | $1,451 | $268 | $215 | $1,935 | $77,388 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | $300,000 | 6.74% | $1,555 | $220 | $215 | $1,990 | $79,602 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $299,450 | 6.38% | $1,495 | $314 | $215 | $2,025 | $80,990 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $324,950 | 6.66% | $1,671 | $198 | $215 | $2,083 | $83,330 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $325,000 | 6.75% | $1,686 | $209 | $215 | $2,110 | $84,396 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | $339,950 | 6.76% | $1,766 | $139 | $215 | $2,120 | $84,782 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $334,273 | 6.73% | $1,731 | $214 | $215 | $2,160 | $86,416 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $339,700 | 6.69% | $1,752 | $385 | $215 | $2,352 | $94,072 |
| Tucson, AZ | $385,000 | 6.74% | $1,996 | $141 | $215 | $2,352 | $94,072 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $349,950 | 6.74% | $1,814 | $382 | $215 | $2,411 | $96,439 |
Cities Where You Can Afford the Median Home on $100,000 to $149,999
| Metro area (sorted by lowest monthly housing expense) | July median listing price | Current 30-year mortgage average | Mortgage payment | Property tax per month | Insurance per month | Total monthly housing expense | Annual income needed to keep housing cost at 30% or less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $370,000 | 6.69% | $1,908 | $419 | $215 | $2,542 | $101,696 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $408,495 | 6.67% | $2,102 | $252 | $215 | $2,569 | $102,766 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | $399,950 | 6.74% | $2,073 | $293 | $215 | $2,581 | $103,257 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $384,950 | 6.70% | $1,987 | $382 | $215 | $2,584 | $103,358 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $399,900 | 6.76% | $2,077 | $300 | $215 | $2,592 | $103,682 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $415,000 | 6.67% | $2,136 | $256 | $215 | $2,607 | $104,265 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | $415,000 | 6.75% | $2,153 | $266 | $215 | $2,635 | $105,385 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $419,945 | 6.68% | $2,163 | $269 | $215 | $2,648 | $105,914 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $426,950 | 6.67% | $2,197 | $263 | $215 | $2,676 | $107,020 |
| Columbus, OH | $392,450 | 6.74% | $2,034 | $428 | $215 | $2,678 | $107,107 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $377,000 | 6.76% | $1,958 | $575 | $215 | $2,748 | $109,924 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $449,433 | 6.70% | $2,320 | $232 | $215 | $2,767 | $110,691 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | $410,000 | 6.74% | $2,125 | $427 | $215 | $2,767 | $110,692 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | $460,000 | 6.70% | $2,375 | $238 | $215 | $2,827 | $113,092 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $435,000 | 6.76% | $2,259 | $359 | $215 | $2,833 | $113,332 |
| Richmond, VA | $449,900 | 6.75% | $2,334 | $289 | $215 | $2,838 | $113,525 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | $427,350 | 6.74% | $2,215 | $410 | $215 | $2,840 | $113,588 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | $475,000 | 6.78% | $2,472 | $194 | $215 | $2,881 | $115,249 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $439,900 | 6.69% | $2,269 | $499 | $215 | $2,982 | $119,283 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $505,000 | 6.74% | $2,618 | $185 | $215 | $3,018 | $120,713 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $449,450 | 6.73% | $2,327 | $554 | $215 | $3,097 | $123,866 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $509,950 | 6.67% | $2,624 | $314 | $215 | $3,154 | $126,153 |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | $544,950 | 6.76% | $2,831 | $223 | $215 | $3,268 | $130,722 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $510,950 | 6.69% | $2,635 | $579 | $215 | $3,429 | $137,160 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $600,000 | 6.76% | $3,116 | $250 | $215 | $3,581 | $143,258 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $599,900 | 6.66% | $3,084 | $350 | $215 | $3,649 | $145,961 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $599,995 | 6.73% | $3,107 | $390 | $215 | $3,712 | $148,475 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $612,500 | 6.78% | $3,188 | $311 | $215 | $3,714 | $148,570 |
Cities Where You Can Afford the Median Home on $150,000 or More
| Metro area (sorted by lowest monthly housing expense) | July median listing price | Current 30-year mortgage average | Mortgage payment | Property tax per month | Insurance per month | Total monthly housing expense | Annual income needed to keep housing cost at 30% or less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $625,000 | 6.66% | $3,213 | $365 | $215 | $3,793 | $151,709 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $604,950 | 6.76% | $3,142 | $529 | $215 | $3,887 | $155,460 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $785,463 | 6.74% | $4,071 | $491 | $215 | $4,777 | $191,093 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $775,000 | 6.38% | $3,870 | $814 | $215 | $4,899 | $195,951 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $841,950 | 6.79% | $4,387 | $681 | $215 | $5,282 | $211,288 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $987,500 | 6.66% | $5,077 | $576 | $215 | $5,868 | $234,712 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $990,000 | 6.66% | $5,090 | $578 | $215 | $5,882 | $235,284 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $1,148,483 | 6.66% | $5,904 | $670 | $215 | $6,789 | $271,573 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $1,373,750 | 6.66% | $7,062 | $801 | $215 | $8,079 | $323,153 |
Today’s Mortgage Rate News
We cover new purchase and refinance mortgage rates every business day. Find our latest rate reports here:
How We Track the Best Mortgage Rates
The national and state averages cited above are provided as is via the Zillow Mortgage API, assuming a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80% (i.e., a down payment of at least 20%) and an applicant credit score in the 680–739 range. The resulting rates represent what borrowers should expect when receiving quotes from lenders based on their qualifications, which may vary from advertised teaser rates. © Zillow, Inc., 2025. Use is subject to the Zillow Terms of Use.
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