Chances are you’ve considered how much money you would need to earn in order to buy a home. The answer, of course, depends largely on where you live. To give you an idea, finance website HowMuch.net recently crunched the housing affordability numbers for each state to ensure you spend your money wisely.
To arrive at its estimates, the website layered in several factors. The team collected average home prices in every state from Zillow, then plugged those figures into a mortgage calculator to determine monthly payments. HowMuch.net considered an interest rate that varied between 4 and 5 percent in each state. Also, it was assumed buyers were contributing a 10-percent down payment.
Given that many financial advisors recommend the total cost of housing take up no more than 30 percent of gross income (i.e. the amount before taxes, retirement savings, etc.), the data team used that rule as a benchmark to calculate the minimum salary needed to afford the average home in each state. The figures are based on 30-year mortgages.
Next, we took HowMuch.net’s findings a step further by including the latest U.S. Census Bureau data on median household income to help illustrate how affordable a home purchase may actually be for the average person living in that state.
Ready to see how your state fares when it comes to affordability and home prices?
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Alabama
Salary needed to afford a home: $47,960
Median household income: $46,257
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Alaska
Salary needed to afford a home: $67,280
Median household income: $76,440
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Arizona
Salary needed to afford a home: $67,280
Median household income: $53,558
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Arkansas
Salary needed to afford a home: $41,040
Median household income: $44,334
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
California
Salary needed to afford a home: $120,120
Median household income: $67,739
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Colorado
Salary needed to afford a home: $100,200
Median household income: $65,685
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Connecticut
Salary needed to afford a home: $75,280
Median household income: $73,433
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Delaware
Salary needed to afford a home: $67,960
Median household income: $61,757
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Washington, DC
Salary needed to afford a home: $138,440
Median household income: $75,506
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Florida
Salary needed to afford a home: $70,360
Median household income: $50,860
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Georgia
Salary needed to afford a home: $59,520
Median household income: $53,559
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Hawaii
Salary needed to afford a home: $153,520
Median household income: $74,511
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Idaho
Salary needed to afford a home: $70,360
Median household income: $51,807
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Illinois
Salary needed to afford a home: $53,880
Median household income: $60,960
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Indiana
Salary needed to afford a home: $42,560
Median household income: $52,314
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Iowa
Salary needed to afford a home: $44,360
Median household income: $56,247
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Kansas
Salary needed to afford a home: $43,160
Median household income: $54,935
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Kentucky
Salary needed to afford a home: $44,360
Median household income: $46,659
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Louisiana
Salary needed to afford a home: $50,320
Median household income: $45,146
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Maine
Salary needed to afford a home: $55,520
Median household income: $53,079
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Maryland
Salary needed to afford a home: $72,200
Median household income: $78,945
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Massachusetts
Salary needed to afford a home: $101,320
Median household income: $75,297
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Michigan
Salary needed to afford a home: $40,800
Median household income: $52,492
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Minnesota
Salary needed to afford a home: $64,720
Median household income: $65,599
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Mississippi
Salary needed to afford a home: $44,360
Median household income: $41,754
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Missouri
Salary needed to afford a home: $42,200
Median household income: $51,746
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Montana
Salary needed to afford a home: $75,520
Median household income: $50,027
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Nebraska
Salary needed to afford a home: $51,520
Median household income: $56,927
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Nevada
Salary needed to afford a home: $73,120
Median household income: $55,180
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
New Hampshire
Salary needed to afford a home: $68,440
Median household income: $70,936
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
New Jersey
Salary needed to afford a home: $69,640
Median household income: $76,126
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
New Mexico
Salary needed to afford a home: $54,880
Median household income: $46,748
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
New York
Salary needed to afford a home: $91,720
Median household income: $62,909
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
North Carolina
Salary needed to afford a home: $63,840
Median household income: $50,584
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
North Dakota
Salary needed to afford a home: $56,000
Median household income: $60,656
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Ohio
Salary needed to afford a home: $38,400
Median household income: $52,334
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Oklahoma
Salary needed to afford a home: $45,320
Median household income: $49,176
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Oregon
Salary needed to afford a home: $87,160
Median household income: $57,532
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Pennsylvania
Salary needed to afford a home: $47,960
Median household income: $56,907
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Rhode Island
Salary needed to afford a home: $69,640
Median household income: $60,596
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
South Carolina
Salary needed to afford a home: $58,840
Median household income: $49,501
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
South Dakota
Salary needed to afford a home: $55,360
Median household income: $54,467
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Tennessee
Salary needed to afford a home: $55,760
Median household income: $48,547
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Texas
Salary needed to afford a home: $66,080
Median household income: $56,565
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Utah
Salary needed to afford a home: $83,720
Median household income: $65,977
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Vermont
Salary needed to afford a home: $62,600
Median household income: $57,677
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Virginia
Salary needed to afford a home: $71,960
Median household income: $68,114
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Washington
Salary needed to afford a home: $87,040
Median household income: $67,106
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
West Virginia
Salary needed to afford a home: $38,320
Median household income: $43,385
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Wisconsin
Salary needed to afford a home: $50,080
Median household income: $56,811
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Wyoming
Salary needed to afford a home: $58,000
Median household income: $59,882
This article originally appeared on SimpleMost.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
