Here’s How Many Hours You Have to Work to Afford a Home in Each State

It’s typically less expensive to own a home than rent one. But that doesn’t mean home ownership isn’t a pricey proposition.

If you’re thinking about buying a home and are crunching the numbers to see what sort of monthly mortgage payment fits within your budget, you might want to put it into a different perspective by figuring out how many hours you’d have to work to afford a home. Fortunately, GOBankingRates already did the math for you.

We surveyed all 50 states and the District of Columbia to see how many hours of work is needed to pay a monthly mortgage. “It’s one thing to know an amount you must pay each month, but thinking of it in terms of working hours gives a whole new meaning,” said Kristen Bonner, research lead on the study.

By looking at median home list prices, mortgage rates, median household income and the number of working hours in a year to calculate hourly pay, we’ve created a guide to help you pinpoint how long you need to work to afford a home. Click through to find out if getting a mortgage loan in your state will cost you too much money — and too many work hours.

• Median home listing price: $140,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.66%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $720
• Household income: $48,849

You might get one of the best deals on a new home in Ohio. In this state, you’ll have to work the fewest number of hours — compared to residents in other states — to pay the monthly mortgage.

• Median home listing price: $149,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.68%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $763
• Household income: $49,087

Home prices in Michigan have climbed more than nearly 2 percent over the past year, according to the Michigan Realtors Association. But thanks to low housing costs, Michigan requires the second fewest number of hours of work to afford a monthly mortgage payment.

• Median home listing price: $140,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.71%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $764
• Household income: $48,737

Although the median household income in Indiana is lower than the national median, the state has a low monthly mortgage payment. As a result, it takes fewer than 40 hours of work a month to afford a home. Plus, it’s one of the states where it’s significantly cheaper to own a home rather than rent.

• Median home listing price: $159,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.58%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $854
• Household income: $52,716

Iowa homeowners have to work fewer hours than residents in 46 states and the District of Columbia. As an added bonus, Iowa is one of the best states where residents’ paychecks go further, thanks to a low cost of living.

• Median home listing price: $154,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.55%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $781
• Household income: $47,764

Despite a relatively low median household income, Missouri residents don’t have to work as many hours to afford a home as residents in other states. That’s because the average monthly mortgage payment in the state is among the lowest in the nation.

• Median home listing price: $159,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.51%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $849
• Household income: $51,872

There are only five states where homeowners have to work fewer hours than in Kansas to pay their monthly mortgage. Although the median income in the state is slightly lower than the national median, residents benefit from a low median home list price.

• Median home listing price: $179,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.65%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $905
• Household income: $52,400

Nebraska is one of just 10 states where residents have to work fewer than 40 hours a month to cover the cost of a mortgage. Reasonable housing costs mean Nebraskans don’t have to spend as many hours punching the clock to afford a home.

• Median home listing price: $177,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.61%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $940
• Household income: $52,738

Wisconsin home prices are relatively low. In fact, residents in only seven states have to work fewer hours than Wisconsin homebuyers to cover their monthly mortgage payment.

• Median home listing price: $179,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.58%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $952
• Household income: $53,115

Pennsylvania is the only East Coast state among the 10 states where homebuyers have to work fewer than 40 hours to make a monthly mortgage payment. Paychecks go further in this state where home prices are relatively low and the median household income is about on par with the national median.

• Median home listing price: $224,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.65%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,115
• Household income: $60,828

Minnesota is one of only 10 states where it takes less than 40 hours of work a month to afford a house. The state’s high median income and relatively low housing costs explain why residents don’t have to toil as many hours to make monthly mortgage payments.

• Median home listing price: $280,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.72%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,380
• Household income: $71,829

High housing costs can make owning a home in Alaska difficult. However, the state’s high median income means residents don’t have to work as many hours as people in other states where mortgage costs are the same or lower.

• Median home listing price: $155,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.71%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $793
• Household income: $41,264

Arkansas is just one of five states where the monthly mortgage payment is less than $800. However, its relatively low median household income means residents have to work more hours to afford a home than residents in some states where the average mortgage payment is higher, such as Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

• Median home listing price: $209,500
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.60%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,100
• Household income: $57,166

Illinois residents have to work fewer hours than those in the majority of states to be able to afford a home. That’s because the median household income here is higher than the national median, and housing costs are affordable.

• Median home listing price: $259,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.64%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,272
• Household income: $65,986

A higher median income in New Hampshire compensates for a relatively high median home price and monthly mortgage payment. As a result, residents have to work fewer hours to afford a home than some of their neighbors throughout New England and other states.

• Median home listing price: $166,407
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.71%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $895
• Household income: $46,235

Oklahoma homeowners have to work fewer hours to pay the monthly mortgage than residents of most states. However, they might see those hours drop even more because home prices are expected to decline in the state, according to the Spring 2016 Housing and Mortgage Market Review published by Arch Mortgage Insurance Company.

• Median home listing price: $284,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.54%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,464
• Household income: $74,149

Maryland has the highest median household income in the U.S. A high hourly wage means residents don’t have to work as long as residents in 34 other states and the District of Columbia.

• Median home listing price: $161,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.71%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $873
• Household income: $43,342

The monthly mortgage payment in Kentucky is relatively low, but so is the median household income. As a result, Kentucky homeowners have to work more hours than residents in some states where housing costs are higher.

• Median home listing price: $299,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.62%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,460
• Household income: $72,062

New Jersey residents have to work fewer hours to afford a home than residents in roughly two-thirds of the states and the District of Columbia. The fact that the state has a relatively high median household income in the nation is a big reason homeowners don’t have to work as many hours to cover a monthly mortgage payment.

• Median home listing price: $175,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.71%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $887
• Household income: $43,511

When you live in a state with a low median household income, it means you might have to work more to have enough money to cover a typical monthly mortgage. What could you buy with wages from that many hours of work instead? A week-long stay for a family of four at a beachfront condo in Alabama’s Gulf Shores.

• Median home listing price: $158,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.70%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $857
• Household income: $41,576

The average monthly mortgage payment in West Virginia is among the lowest in the nation — but so is the median household income in this state. So, residents have to work longer to afford a home than people in other states, despite a low median home price and mortgage.

• Median home listing price: $160,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.81%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $824
• Household income: $39,464

Mississippi has one of the lowest monthly mortgage payments, but it also has the lowest median income. As a result, residents have to work more hours to afford their mortgage.

• Median home listing price: $235,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.69%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,235
• Household income: $58,252

Wyoming is one of the few Western states where it takes less than 50 work hours to afford the monthly mortgage on a home. Because the state’s residents have a median household income that’s higher than the national median, less of their monthly paycheck needs to go to housing costs.

• Median home listing price: $179,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.52%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $947
• Household income: $44,621

Tennessee residents have to work longer than their neighbors in Alabama, Arkansas and Kentucky — even though the median household income here is higher. That’s because the median home listing price and monthly mortgage payment in this state are higher.

• Median home listing price: $201,200
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.71%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,069
• Household income: $50,338

South Dakota residents have to work practically the same number of hours to afford a home as their neighbors to the north even though the median home price is about $38,000 cheaper. A lower median income in the state, though, means their paychecks don’t stretch quite as far.

• Median home listing price: $199,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.55%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,048
• Household income: $49,342

Because Georgia’s median household income is in the bottom half of the nation, paychecks don’t go as far. As a result, Georgia residents have to work more hours than residents in about half of the states to afford a monthly mortgage.

• Median home listing price: $239,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.72%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,188
• Household income: $55,579

North Dakota is one of the few Midwestern states where it takes more than 40 hours of work a month to afford a home. However, home prices in this state are expected to drop, according to an Arch Mortgage Insurance Company report. So homebuyers might have to work fewer hours going forward to cover a monthly mortgage in North Dakota.

• Median home listing price: $293,948
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.48%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,500
• Household income: $69,899

Connecticut residents have to work fewer hours than residents in other New England states thanks to a high median income. Also, home prices have been dropping in the state.

Prices have fallen 5.7 percent compared with the same period a year ago, according to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties’ Second Quarter 2016 Connecticut Market Report. Lower prices mean fewer hours of working to afford a home.

• Median home listing price: $239,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.45%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,233
• Household income: $54,447

It takes a 40-hour work week plus almost a day to cover the cost of a mortgage in Vermont. However, residents would have to work even longer to pay for the median rent of a single family home — $1,500.

A higher median income also means housing costs don’t consume a majority of residents’ paychecks. In fact, just 13 percent of homeowners spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing, according to the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. Plus, Vermont has one of the lowest mortgage rates on our list.

• Median home listing price: $269,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.53%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,389
• Household income: $60,231

Delaware residents have to work longer than the typical work week to cover the monthly cost of a mortgage because of relatively high home prices.

• Median home listing price: $217,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.62%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,139
• Household income: $48,804

The monthly mortgage payment in Maine is the lowest in New England. However, the median household income is, too. As a result, residents of Maine have to work more to afford a home than people in some states where housing costs are higher.

• Median home listing price: $197,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.72%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,053
• Household income: $44,991

You’d have to work longer in Louisiana to afford a house than in more than half of the other states. That’s because the state has a relatively low median household income. So, a paycheck doesn’t go as far in this state.

• Median home listing price: $289,990
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.79%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,521
• Household income: $64,792

Virginia has a relatively high median income — and a high median home listing price as well as a high mortgage rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loans. So, residents will likely have to work more hours than others to afford a monthly mortgage.

• Median home listing price: $225,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.46%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,100
• Household income: $46,693

North Carolina homebuyers have to work nearly 50 hours a month to afford a monthly mortgage payment. The primary reason for this is that the state’s median household income is among the lowest in the nation.

• Median home listing price: $215,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.59%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,063
• Household income: $44,968

New Mexico residents have to work a lot of hours to afford a monthly mortgage payment. But, they actually have to work a little longer to be a renter because renting a home is more expensive than owning in New Mexico.

• Median home listing price: $249,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.73%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,236
• Household income: $52,205

Homeowners in Nevada would have to put in more hours than a typical work week to pay their monthly mortgage, thanks to higher mortgage rates.

• Median home listing price: $250,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.72%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,313
• Household income: $52,576

Texas is one of only three Southern states where homebuyers have to work more than 50 hours to make a monthly mortgage payment. However, homeowners’ paychecks will go further than renters’ because the monthly cost of renting in the Lone Star State is higher.

• Median home listing price: $279,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.39%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,420
• Household income: $56,423

Rhode Island is one of the top 10 states where residents are most likely to live paycheck to paycheck due, in large part, to high housing costs, a GOBankingRates study found. That means residents of the smallest state are working more hours than many Americans to afford a home.

• Median home listing price: $255,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.70%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,261
• Household income: $49,928

Like in many other Western states, it takes more than 50 hours to afford a home in Arizona. That’s because paychecks don’t go as far in this state where the median household income is relatively low.

• Median home listing price: $218,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.66%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,152
• Household income: $45,033

South Carolina residents have to work longer hours to afford a house because paychecks are smaller. Homebuyers could move to neighboring Georgia and spend nearly 10 hours less working to afford the monthly mortgage there.

• Median home listing price: $299,999
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.73%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,563
• Household income: $60,294

Although it takes more than 50 hours to afford a house in Washington, it takes even more in seven other Western states, including Oregon. A high median household income helps offset high mortgage rates and a high monthly mortgage payment.

• Median home listing price: $299,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.70%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,554
• Household income: $59,846

Utah’s median household income is relatively high. However, it still takes more than 50 hours of work to cover the monthly mortgage in this state where the median list price is nearly $300,000. Residents might need to work fewer hours to pay for housing costs if they rent, which costs less than owning a home in Utah.

• Median home listing price: $234,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.69%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,234
• Household income: $47,334

Believe it or not, Boise, Idaho, has one of the hottest housing markets in 2016, according to Zillow. But you’d have to work more hours in Idaho than in 41 other states to pay the monthly mortgage.

• Median home listing price: $255,490
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.68%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,336
• Household income: $47,212

Florida residents have to work longer than any other Southerners to afford a home. In fact, it’s the only Southern state among the top 10 places for the most number of hours required to pay a monthly mortgage.

• Median home listing price: $389,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.51%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,969
• Household income: $67,846

Massachusetts is one of only eight states where residents have to toil more than 60 hours to afford a home. However, they’d have to work even longer to afford the rent on a single-family home — the median rent is more than $500 higher than the monthly mortgage in Massachusetts.

• Median home listing price: $348,888
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.74%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,707
• Household income: $58,687

New Yorkers already work more hours than residents of other major cities, according to the Office of the New York City Comptroller. But to afford a home in their state, they have to work nearly twice as many hours as residents of Ohio, where it takes the fewest number of work hours to pay a monthly mortgage.

• Median home listing price: $284,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.69%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,399
• Household income: $46,766

A low median household income and relatively high mortgage rates mean Montana residents have to work longer to afford a home. In fact, it’s one of just eight states where it takes more than 60 hours of work per month to pay the monthly mortgage.

• Median home listing price: $309,500
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.75%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,614
• Household income: $50,521

If you want to buy a home in Oregon, you’ll have to work more hours there than in 46 other states. That’s because the median income in the Beaver State is relatively low. And, mortgage rates and the monthly mortgage payment are among the highest in the nation.

In fact, the $1,614 you’d have to shell out each month for a mortgage on a home with the median list price of $309,500 would be enough to cover the mortgage on two homes in states such as Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio.

• Median home listing price: $367,267
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.79%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $1,909
• Household income: $59,448

Forget skiing, hiking or enjoying all of the other outdoor activities Colorado has to offer if you want to afford a home here. Homebuyers here have to work nearly 70 hours to cover a monthly mortgage payment of $1,909. Residents of only two states and the District of Columbia have to work more to afford a home.

• Median home listing price: $475,000
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.75%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $2,302
• Household income: $61,489

If you want to buy a home in California, be prepared to work long hours. In fact, homebuyers have to work more hours to make a monthly mortgage payment than residents in all but one state and the District of Columbia. Although the median household income here is high, so are mortgage rates.

• Median home listing price: $549,900
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.54%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $2,763
• Household income: $69,235

Residents of the nation’s capital have to work more hours than residents in every state but one to buy a home.

The average work week in Washington, DC, is 43.5 hours — plus another 4.49 hours of commute time — according to a March 2015 brief by the Office of the New York City Comptroller. Only San Francisco employees work more hours, on average and not including commute time.

• Median home listing price: $577,500
• 30-year fixed-mortgage rate: 3.47%
• Monthly mortgage payment: $2,880
• Household income: $68,201

It’s hard to enjoy paradise when you have to work so many hours to afford your mortgage. Hawaii residents have to work the most number of hours to afford a home — despite having a high median income — because the state has the highest home list price and highest monthly mortgage payment.

Methodology: GOBankingRates surveyed all 50 states and the District of Columbia considering the following:

• Median household income data (2014 Census Bureau) and the Office of Personnel Management’s 2,087-hour divisor
• Monthly mortgage payment calculated from the median home list prices in each state (May 2016, Zillow) and current 30-year fixed mortgage loan rates in each state using (July 6, 2016, RateWatch) assuming a 20 percent down payment