The Salary Needed To Afford a Home in 2025, According to Gen Z, Millennials and Boomers

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Homeownership in the United States is seen as a sign of success. The “American Dream” has long hinged upon the idea that if you own your own home, you have “made it.” With housing prices rising faster than incomes, how realistic is this dream for each generation?

GOBankingRates surveyed 1,000 Americans aged 18 and up and asked them, “What salary do you believe is needed to afford a home in the U.S. in 2025?”

Here’s what they had to say, based on whether they are Gen Z, millennials, or baby boomers.

Next, find out how millennials and Gen Z afford housing in 2025.

Gen Z

Gen Z consists of those born between 1997 and 2012, who are now between 13 and 28 years old. The majority of Gen Z respondents thought that the salary needed to afford a home in the U.S. in 2025 was between $75,001 and $150,000 per year.

Twenty percent of respondents said the required income is between $75,001 and $100,000, and the exact same percentage said it’s between $100,001 and $150,000.

A sizeable number of Gen Z respondents (16%) think that you can purchase a home in the U.S. if you earn between $50,001 and $75,000 per year. Roughly the same number said it would take income of $150,001-$200,000 (14%) or $200,001-$250,000 (16%).

Five percent of Gen Z respondents said they thought it would take an income over $500,000 to afford a home in the U.S. in 2025.

Millennials

Millennials, so named because they came of age around the turn of the millennium, currently range in age from 29 to 44 years old. They were born between 1981 and 1996. According to ResiClub Analytics, the average age of a first-time homebuyer in the U.S. was 38 in 2024, so members of this generation are likely to have already purchased or are looking to purchase their first home.

The most common estimate millennials gave for the income required to afford a home in the U.S. is 2025 was between $100,001 and $150,000, with 22% of respondents making this choice. A significant number also said the required salary was $75,001-$100,000 (19%) or $150,001-$200,000 (14%).

Eleven percent of millennials said that a salary between $200,001 and $250,000 would be required to afford a home in the U.S. in 2025.

Baby Boomers

Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, so they are currently between 61 and 79 years old. They have likely purchased and sold more than one home in their lifetime so far and may be considering selling a long-time home to downsize.

Most (45%) of boomers thought that income of $100,001-$200,000 would do the trick, roughly evenly split between the 23% who said $100,001-$150,000 and the 22% who estimated $150,001-$200,000.

Just 16% thought you could buy a home with an income of $75,001-$100,000, and 10% said it would take $200,001-$250,000.

How Much Income Do You Need To Afford a Home?

So, what’s the “real answer” to this question? Well, that depends.

The income needed to afford a home varies widely based on a number of factors, including where you live, what size and type of home you’re considering and the size of the down payment you have.

Here’s an example based on some average assumptions.

According to Zillow, the average home value in the United States is $361,263. With a 20% down payment of $72,253, you would need a mortgage of $289,010.

Assuming a 6.48% interest rate on a 30-year mortgage, property taxes of $3,000 per year and insurance of $1,500 per year, your monthly payment would be $2,198. To support a monthly payment of this size, the required annual income is about $94,197.

GOBankingRates surveyed 1,000 Americans aged 18 and older from across the country between Feb. 10 and Feb. 15, 2025, asking seventeen different questions: (1) When do you expect to file your taxes this year?; (2) How much do you expect it to cost you to file your taxes this year?; (3) How much do you expect to receive in a tax refund?; (4) What do you plan to do with a majority of your refund?; (5) Do you believe your tax dollars are being spent effectively?; (6) Do you believe you are paying too much, too little, or a fair share in taxes?; (7) Do you expect your tax refund this year to be more or less than last year?; (8) Do you depend on a tax refund to make ends meet?; (9) If you owe more than $1,000 on taxes this year, can you afford to pay it immediately?; (10) What do you understand the least about your taxes?; (11) What concerns you the most about Tax Day?; (12) Do you believe the ultra wealthy should be taxed more, less or the same?; (13) Do you believe the middle class should be taxed more, less, or the same?; (14) What salary do you believe is needed to live comfortably in the US in 2025?; (15) What is the minimum salary you believe is needed to be upper class?; (16) What salary do you believe is needed to afford a home in the US in 2025?; and (17) Are you spending more/less on groceries than last year?. GOBankingRates used PureSpectrum’s survey platform to conduct the poll.

Sources

• ResiClub, “The vanishing young homebuyer: Median first-time homebuyer age jumps from 28 in 1991 to 38 in 2024.”
• Zillow, “United States Housing Market.”

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