You Can Afford a Mortgage in These 13 Cities on Just a $40K Salary

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If you have dreamed of owning your own home but have been afraid that your salary won’t cover your mortgage, you are not alone. Many people cite cost barriers as the number one reason they do not buy property. Luckily, there are cities nationwide where you can purchase a home making a salary of $40,000 or less.

Here are 13 places where you can afford a mortgage on an income well under the national average.

Detroit

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $14,315
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $14,199
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $4,295
• Average typical home value: $70,997

Cleveland

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $21,763
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $21,587
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $6,529
• Average typical home value: $107,935

Toledo, Ohio

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $24,133
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $23,938
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $7,240
• Average typical home value: $119,690

Birmingham, Alabama

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $25,120
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $24,917
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $7,536
• Average typical home value: $124,586

Akron, Ohio

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $26,374
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $26,160
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $7,912
• Average typical home value: $130,801

Dayton, Ohio

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $28,797
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $28,564
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $8,639
• Average typical home value: $142,820

Memphis, Tennessee

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $29,721
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $29,481
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $8,916
• Average typical home value: $147,405

St. Louis

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $35,357
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $35,071
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $10,607
• Average typical home value: $175,356

Brownsville, Texas

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $37,477
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $37,174
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $11,243
• Average typical home value: $185,869

Baltimore

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $37,738
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $37,433
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $11,321
• Average typical home value: $187,163

Syracuse, New York

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $37,946
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $37,639
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $11,384
• Average typical home value: $188,194

Mobile, Alabama

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $38,773
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $38,459
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $11,632
• Average typical home value: $192,297

Wichita, Kansas

• Salary needed to afford mortgage with 20% down payment: $39,923
• Savings needed for 20% down payment: $39,600
• Annual mortgage with 20% down payment: $11,977
• Average typical home value: $197,998

Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates looked at the 50 largest housing markets with 2024 typical home values below $300,000, as sourced from July 2024 Zillow data. GOBankingRates deemed this “affordable,” as the national average is $361,433, thus $300,000 and below is well below the national average (15% plus). With these cities isolated, GOBankingRates found the following: (1) savings needed for a down payment at 20%, 15%, 10% and 6%; (2) annual mortgage cost at 20%, 15%, 10% and 6%, respectively; and (3) salary needed to afford the mortgage at 20%, 15%, 10% and 6%, assuming that no more than 30% of pre-tax income should be put towards housing. For all mortgage calculations, GOBankingRates assumed a 30-year fixed rate at 6.47%, as sourced from Freddie Mac, with no P+I, property tax or HOA fees. All data was collected and is up to date as of Aug. 13, 2024.

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