NEW YORK–With politicians, pundits and would-be homebuyers alike increasingly arguing that homeownership,—one of the pillars of the American Dream—is no longer within reach for regular Americans, Creditnews Research said it has put that assumption to the test.
The company analyzed the relationship between income distribution and housing costs across the 100 most populous metropolitan areas in the United States.
“What we discovered reveals the story of two Americas: one where middle-class families can still qualify for an average home and one where they've been priced out entirely,” Creditnews Research reported. “The good news is there are still pockets of affordability across the country. The bad news is that affordable metros are declining rapidly.”
The Most Affordable
According to the research, the most affordable metro areas include:
- Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA: $40,371 (qualifying income needed to afford an average home)
- Toledo, Ohio: $48,429
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas: $49,543
- Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA: $52,071
- Wichita, Kan.: $55,243
- Pittsburgh, PA: $55,457
- Akron, Ohio: $56,743
- El Paso, Texas: $58,114
- Syracuse, NY: $58,157
- Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR: $58,286
The Least Affordable
The least affordable metro areas, according to the analysis, include:
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $425,614 (qualifying income needed to afford an average home)
- San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA: $310,029
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: $256,286
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA: $253,157
- Urban Honolulu: $235,543
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA: $232,500
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $196,971
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: $181,971
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA: $173,786
- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT: $163,371
Additional Findings
Creditnews Research said additional findings include:
- In 2024, the middle class can afford an average home in just 52 of the top 100 metro areas in the U.S.—a decline from 91 in 2019.
- Those in the lower-middle class are priced out of 93 of the top 100 metro areas, up from just 33 in 2019.
- The top five metros that, since Covid, have seen the largest increase in housing costs are all in California; they include San Jose, Calif.; San Diego, Los Angeles; San Francisco, and Oxnard, Calif.
- Metros that are affordable for middle-class families are in rapid decline. 39 of the 100 most populous metros became unaffordable since COVID.
To access the full data and methodology, click here.
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