How Long It Would Take You To Save for a $1 Million Home in Your State

It’s no secret that buying a home in modern America can be a rather pricey proposition, no matter which state you buy the house in. That said, while a $1 million home is a $1 million home, it can take far longer in some states than others to save a down payment for such a house.

Recently, GOBankingRates studied the median income for a single individual in every state. With that information in hand, GOBankingRates then calculated a savings amount of 20% of that median income on a state-by-state basis, factoring in such costs as a monthly mortgage as well. From that matrix, GOBankingRates calculated just how long it would take you to save the $200,000 necessary to buy your million-dollar dream home.

Thanks to high incomes, citizens of some of the most expensive states (such as Washington and California) can put back $1 million in just 20 years, those who live in lower-income states such as Mississippi, West Virginia and Arkansas will take on average between 35 and 40 years to save enough to afford a $1 million dream home.

• Median income for single person: $34,564
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,670
• How many years to save up down payment: 35.3
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $58,232
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $9,754
• How many years to save up down payment: 20.5
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $49,118
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,117
• How many years to save up down payment: 24.6
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $33,475
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,605
• How many years to save up down payment: 35.7
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $61,846
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $9,943
• How many years to save up down payment: 20.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $58,970
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $9,483
• How many years to save up down payment: 21.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $52,961
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,475
• How many years to save up down payment: 23.6
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $49,822
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,054
• How many years to save up down payment: 24.8
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $45,261
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,670
• How many years to save up down payment: 26.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $45,785
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,390
• How many years to save up down payment: 27.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $58,149
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $9,163
• How many years to save up down payment: 21.8
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $43,770
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,127
• How many years to save up down payment: 28.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $48,992
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,812
• How many years to save up down payment: 25.6
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $40,986
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,610
• How many years to save up down payment: 30.3
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $43,273
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,117
• How many years to save up down payment: 28.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $42,323
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,858
• How many years to save up down payment: 29.2
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $36,358
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,974
• How many years to save up down payment: 33.5
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $34,604
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,811
• How many years to save up down payment: 34.4
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $41,915
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,874
• How many years to save up down payment: 29.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $61,575
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $9,406
• How many years to save up down payment: 21.3
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $59,635
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $9,472
• How many years to save up down payment: 21.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $42,017
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,757
• How many years to save up down payment: 29.6
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $51,687
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,290
• How many years to save up down payment: 24.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $30,138
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,129
• How many years to save up down payment: 39.0
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $40,443
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,711
• How many years to save up down payment: 29.8
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $41,864
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,764
• How many years to save up down payment: 29.6
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $43,148
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,057
• How many years to save up down payment: 28.3
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $48,386
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,172
• How many years to save up down payment: 24.5
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $54,582
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $9,168
• How many years to save up down payment: 21.8
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $57,782
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $9,357
• How many years to save up down payment: 21.4
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $39,679
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,584
• How many years to save up down payment: 30.4
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $52,516
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,380
• How many years to save up down payment: 23.9
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $42,352
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,936
• How many years to save up down payment: 28.3
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $45,414
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,695
• How many years to save up down payment: 26.0
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $41,653
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,808
• How many years to save up down payment: 29.4
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $38,142
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,285
• How many years to save up down payment: 31.8
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $49,779
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,627
• How many years to save up down payment: 26.2
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $44,365
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,165
• How many years to save up down payment: 27.9
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $49,005
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,021
• How many years to save up down payment: 24.9
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $40,063
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,707
• How many years to save up down payment: 29.8
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $43,596
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,403
• How many years to save up down payment: 27.0
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $40,831
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,958
• How many years to save up down payment: 28.7
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $47,584
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,044
• How many years to save up down payment: 24.9
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $52,010
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,282
• How many years to save up down payment: 24.2
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $46,243
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,624
• How many years to save up down payment: 26.2
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $54,765
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,722
• How many years to save up down payment: 22.9
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $59,539
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $9,965
• How many years to save up down payment: 20.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $32,953
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,516
• How many years to save up down payment: 36.3
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $46,629
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,550
• How many years to save up down payment: 26.5
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

• Median income for single person: $43,379
• Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,368
• How many years to save up down payment: 27.1
• Monthly mortgage: $5,237

Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates first found median income for a single person (defined in the American Community Survey as “non-family households”) for each state as sourced from the 2023 American Community Survey as conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. GOBankingRates then found the post-tax income for single people in each state using an in-house income tax calculator, assuming they were taking the standard deduction and using tax bracket data from the Tax Foundation. GOBankingRates then set the down payment at 20% and assumed a person would be following the 50/30/20 rule where 20% of post-tax income goes towards savings and debt repayment. GOBankingRates then calculated how long it would take a single person in each state following the 50/30/20 rule to save for the down payment ($200,000) on a $1,000,000 home. From there GOBankingRates also calculated the 30- year fixed mortgage on a $1,000,000 assuming no private mortgage insurance, no homeowner’s association fees and no property tax, with a rate of 6.84% as sourced from Freddie Mac. All data was collected on and is up to date as of June 12, 2025.