This dataset estimates the amount of money Americans would need to earn annually to afford the typical home, based on where they live
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Monthly Affordability Tracker
The total monthly housing payment is a factor of the following: Mortgage payment — based on the home’s price, the down payment assumption, and the prevailing 30-year fixed mortgage rate for that month (from Freddie Mac, via the Federal Reserve’s FRED database), amortized over 30 years. Property taxes — the typical annual tax bill for that property type in that area, divided into monthly terms. Where local tax data is missing, we estimate taxes at 1.25% of the home’s value. Home insurance — estimated at 0.5% of the home’s value per year. Private mortgage insurance (PMI) — applied when the down payment is below 20%, since lenders typically require it. The rate rises as the down payment shrinks.
Monthly Mortgage Payment
Monthly PMI
Monthly Property Insurance
Monthly Property Tax
Monthly Affordability Tracker
The affordability gap
Income required to afford* a typical all residential home vs
median household income
*The annual income a household would need so that the monthly payment on the typical home takes up no more than 30% of earnings
Income earned minus income required · 10 most and least affordable metros
Monthly Affordability Tracker
Share of income
The monthly cost of owning a home divided by a household’s pre-tax monthly income
Monthly Affordability Tracker
Years to save for a downpayment *
*How long it would take a household to save the down payment on the home, assuming it sets aside 5% of its income each year. This captures the up-front hurdle to buying, which is separate from the monthly cost.
Years to save (then)
Years to save (now)
About the Data
Our Housing Affordability Tracker is based on median home-sale prices, nationwide and by metro area, along with prevailing mortgage rates and property-tax payments. It assumes a 15% down payment. The dataset determines how much a household would need to earn annually to afford the median home in their metro area. This quarterly data is subject to revision.
Data Download
See historical data by metro area and full methodology
