How Much House Middle-Class Families Can Afford in 50 Cities

Recently, a Zillow dataset outlined how much house earners can afford on average across some of the nation’s most popular metros — along with the years it will take them to save for down payments.

GOBankingRates referred to this data to determine how much house middle-class families can afford. In high cost-of-living areas such as Miami, Los Angeles and New York, middle-class households will need to earn six-figure incomes to become homeowners.

To determine how much house a middle-class household can afford, GOBankingRates sourced Zillow Affordability Research Data. The affordable home value is defined as an estimate of the home price such that the total monthly payment on this home does not exceed 30% of the median household’s monthly income (after a 20% down payment).

The new homeowner income needed is defined as an estimate of the annual household income required to spend less than 30% of monthly income on the total monthly payment after newly purchasing the typical home with a 20% down payment.

• San Jose, California, has the greatest cost difference between average home values and “affordable” home values, at $1,001,744. The average San Jose homeowner needs an income of $420,340 to purchase a home, the highest income required of the 50 metros to rank.
• The top 10 cities feature nine California cities and one Hawaii metro. With San Jose in first place, the remaining nine metros include Santa Cruz, Kahului, San Francisco, Santa Maria, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Salinas and Napa. The minimum new homeowner income needed to afford a house in each city is $212,924.
• 18 of the top 50 cities are based in California. California accounts for 22 of the 100 metros, the most out of any state.

Find out how much house middle-class families can afford in these 50 metros.

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $1,671,369
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $669,624
• Difference between average home value vs. ‘affordable’ home values: $1,001,744
• New homeowner income needed: $420,340

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $1,147,190
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $452,757
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $694,433
• New homeowner income needed: $291,539

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $1,050,949
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $377,681
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $673,269
• New homeowner income needed: $249,876

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $1,155,119
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $536,414
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $618,705
• New homeowner income needed: $298,602

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $974,486
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $384,191
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $590,295
• New homeowner income needed: $247,305

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $971,996
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $391,578
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $580,417
• New homeowner income needed: $247,573

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $893,427
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $387,032
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $506,395
• New homeowner income needed: $228,014

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $948,441
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $447,775
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $500,665
• New homeowner income needed: $241,105

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $838,422
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $369,347
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $469,075
• New homeowner income needed: $212,924

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $895,444
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $435,328
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $460,116
• New homeowner income needed: $232,578

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $877,205
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $461,047
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $416,159
• New homeowner income needed: $224,544

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $856,016
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $443,881
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $412,135
• New homeowner income needed: $218,514

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $801,568
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $420,464
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $381,104
• New homeowner income needed: $208,172

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $712,408
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $354,437
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $357,972
• New homeowner income needed: $184,072

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $729,888
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $377,119
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $352,770
• New homeowner income needed: $185,693

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $738,081
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $398,948
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $339,133
• New homeowner income needed: $188,362

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $679,756
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $357,648
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $322,108
• New homeowner income needed: $196,493 

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $627,411
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $315,636
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $311,774
• New homeowner income needed: $155,263

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $701,628
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $397,824
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $303,804
• New homeowner income needed: $178,122

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $606,458
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $309,754
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $296,704
• New homeowner income needed: $156,752

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $668,672
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $405,129
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $263,544
• New homeowner income needed: $170,183

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $557,869
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $300,992
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $256,877
• New homeowner income needed: $147,450

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $698,545
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $450,874
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $247,671
• New homeowner income needed: $187,614

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $538,878
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $301,963
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $236,915
• New homeowner income needed: $143,111

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $557,163
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $324,759
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $232,404
• New homeowner income needed: $136,616

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $751,241
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $520,711
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $230,530
• New homeowner income needed: $178,216

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $588,554
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $372,192
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $216,362
• New homeowner income needed: $153,891

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $484,836
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $274,699
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $210,137
• New homeowner income needed: $140,516

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $582,306
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $372,605
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $209,701
• New homeowner income needed: $153,966

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $631,090
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $430,331
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $200,759
• New homeowner income needed: $180,122

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $543,543
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $345,695
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $197,848
• New homeowner income needed: $136,288

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $493,005
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $307,083
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $185,922
• New homeowner income needed: $127,845

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $579,956
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $400,401
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $179,556
• New homeowner income needed: $152,657

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $413,480
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $233,975
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $179,505
• New homeowner income needed: $107,260

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $549,280
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $373,372
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $175,908
• New homeowner income needed: $136,762

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $574,818
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $399,520
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $175,298
• New homeowner income needed: $150,478

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $541,933
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $367,613
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $174,321
• New homeowner income needed: $141,359

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $517,032
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $349,305
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $167,728
• New homeowner income needed: $130,252

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $587,797
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $423,138
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $164,660
• New homeowner income needed: $155,085

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $520,769
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $356,255
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $164,514
• New homeowner income needed: $127,911

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $554,558
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $391,309
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $163,249
• New homeowner income needed: $136,824

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $396,330
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $235,778
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $160,551
• New homeowner income needed: $132,310

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $548,695
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $393,817
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $154,879
• New homeowner income needed: $146,671

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $485,870
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $332,452
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $153,418
• New homeowner income needed: $133,481

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $391,029
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $240,905
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $150,124
• New homeowner income needed: $114,659

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $445,702
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $297,319
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $148,383
• New homeowner income needed: $117,468

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $413,683
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $267,563
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $146,120
• New homeowner income needed: $109,814

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $392,766
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $247,178
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $145,588
• New homeowner income needed: $105,828

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $407,621
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $262,981
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $144,639
• New homeowner income needed: $104,940

• Average home value (Feb. 2025): $586,070
• Home values considered ‘affordable’: $442,485
• Difference between average home value vs ‘affordable’ home values: $143,585
• New homeowner income needed: $150,748

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates used Zillow Affordability Research Data to find out how much house a middle-class household can afford. This assumes a 20% down payment and not spending more than 30% of median household income on home costs. The affordable home price, new homeowner income needed, years to save and new homeowner affordability were all sourced from the Zillow Research Data on Affordability. The new homeowner affordability measures the share of household income the median household would spend on a newly purchased home, including mortgage, insurance, property tax and maintenance costs. Spending more than 30% of household income on housing is considered unaffordable. All data was collected on and is up to date as of March 21, 2025.