The Salary You Need to Buy a Home in Every State

Buying the median American home — valued at $332,700 — takes a household income of about $92,000 under the standard 28% affordability rule, assuming a 20% down payment and a 6.7% 30-year mortgage. But the state-level spread is enormous: Hawaii demands roughly $232,000 a year, while West Virginia requires about $45,000. The table ranks every state by the salary its median home demands, next to what households there actually earn. To run the numbers for your own budget, use our home affordability calculator.

Top 10 Highest Salaries Required

$232,000

$203,800

$203,100

$156,100

$155,400

$149,100

$135,300

$132,000

$125,600

$120,400

In only 20 of the 50 states does the median household income actually cover the salary the median home requires — everywhere else, the typical family cannot comfortably afford the typical house at today's rates. The mortgage math explains why the ranking is steeper than home prices alone: at a 6.7% rate, the all-in monthly cost of the median US home runs about $2,146 once property taxes and insurance are added, and the 28% rule works backward from that payment to the $92,000 income it demands.

The states at the top — Hawaii and California — are the same ones that lead the most expensive states ranking, but the "Gap" column is where this table gets interesting: it shows the difference between the salary required and what the median household in that state actually earns. States with a positive gap dominate the most affordable states ranking, and they are concentrated in the Midwest and interior South. Every figure here describes the median home; half of each state's housing stock costs less, which is how buyers make it work in expensive markets — that, smaller down payments, and second incomes. Test any scenario with the affordability calculator.

Full Rankings

#	State	Salary Needed	Median Home Value	Actual Median Income	Gap
1	Hawaii	$232,000	$839,100	$100,389	−$131,600
2	District of Columbia	$203,800	$737,100	$109,870	−$93,900
3	California	$203,100	$734,700	$99,122	−$104,000
4	Washington	$156,100	$564,600	$98,141	−$58,000
5	Massachusetts	$155,400	$562,100	$103,960	−$51,400
6	Colorado	$149,100	$539,400	$95,470	−$53,700
7	Utah	$135,300	$489,400	$95,166	−$40,100
8	Oregon	$132,000	$477,600	$83,011	−$49,000
9	New Jersey	$125,600	$454,400	$103,556	−$22,100
10	Nevada	$120,400	$435,400	$78,260	−$42,100
11	New York	$117,200	$423,800	$85,974	−$31,200
12	Maryland	$116,100	$419,900	$103,678	−$12,400
13	Idaho	$115,700	$418,600	$77,800	−$37,900
14	Rhode Island	$111,700	$404,200	$87,796	−$24,000
15	New Hampshire	$111,300	$402,500	$99,031	−$12,200
16	Arizona	$109,100	$394,500	$79,964	−$29,100
17	Virginia	$106,100	$383,700	$93,170	−$12,900
18	Montana	$103,900	$375,800	$72,509	−$31,400
19	Connecticut	$101,400	$366,900	$95,781	−$5,700
20	Florida	$99,300	$359,000	$74,568	−$24,700
21	Alaska	$97,600	$352,900	$92,788	−$4,800
22	Delaware	$97,300	$352,000	$84,954	−$12,400
23	Minnesota	$91,000	$329,300	$89,062	−$2,000
24	Vermont	$87,500	$316,600	$81,203	−$6,300
25	Wyoming	$85,600	$309,700	$76,176	−$9,400
26	Georgia	$83,900	$303,300	$77,353	−$6,500
27	Maine	$82,000	$296,600	$74,733	−$7,300
28	North Carolina	$79,900	$288,900	$72,388	−$7,500
29	Tennessee	$79,300	$286,700	$69,595	−$9,700
30	Texas	$78,500	$283,800	$78,476	+$0
31	Wisconsin	$73,700	$266,500	$77,485	+$3,800
32	Illinois	$72,800	$263,300	$83,390	+$10,600
33	South Carolina	$71,600	$259,000	$69,324	−$2,300
34	South Dakota	$71,200	$257,400	$75,081	+$3,900
35	Pennsylvania	$70,400	$254,500	$77,971	+$7,600
36	North Dakota	$69,100	$249,900	$76,657	+$7,600
37	New Mexico	$68,600	$248,100	$64,059	−$4,500
38	Nebraska	$66,000	$238,600	$76,475	+$10,500
39	Michigan	$64,000	$231,600	$72,875	+$8,800
40	Missouri	$63,700	$230,300	$70,702	+$7,000
41	Indiana	$60,300	$218,200	$71,957	+$11,600
42	Kansas	$60,000	$217,200	$74,275	+$14,200
43	Louisiana	$59,900	$216,500	$60,756	+$900
44	Ohio	$59,400	$214,800	$71,389	+$12,000
45	Alabama	$58,000	$209,900	$63,999	+$6,000
46	Iowa	$57,500	$208,000	$75,059	+$17,600
47	Kentucky	$56,800	$205,600	$63,726	+$6,900
48	Oklahoma	$55,200	$199,800	$65,039	+$9,800
49	Arkansas	$52,000	$188,000	$60,773	+$8,800
50	Mississippi	$46,900	$169,800	$56,447	+$9,500
51	West Virginia	$45,000	$162,600	$59,608	+$14,700

Assumes a 20% down payment, 6.7% 30-year fixed rate, 0.90%/yr property tax, and 0.64%/yr insurance, with housing costs capped at 28% of gross income. Actual rates, taxes, and insurance vary by market and borrower.

The District of Columbia is included for comparison, although it is not a state.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates.

About This Ranking

All figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, the Bureau's most reliable dataset for state and local statistics. Because estimates pool five years of survey responses, they describe a recent period rather than a single moment, and small differences between closely ranked entries may fall within the survey's margin of error. Learn more about the data on our methodology page or at data.census.gov.

More National Rankings

Richest States Median household income States by Population All 50 states ranked by size Most Expensive States Median home value Most Affordable States Home price vs. local income Most Educated States Bachelor's degree rate Oldest States Median age, oldest to youngest Poverty Rate by State Lowest to highest Homeownership by State Owner-occupied share Most Diverse States Racial & ethnic diversity index Largest US Cities Top 100 by population Richest US Cities Median income, 50k+ population Most Expensive Cities Median home value, 50k+ population Most Educated Cities Bachelor's rate, 50k+ population Unemployment by State Lowest to highest Labor Force Participation Share of adults working or job-seeking Households Earning $100k+ Six-figure household share Richest US Counties Median household income Largest US Counties Top 100 by population Most Diverse Cities Diversity index, 50k+ population Highest Homeownership Cities Owner-occupied share, 50k+ population

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do you need to make to buy a house in the US?

About $92,000 a year for the median US home ($332,700), assuming a 20% down payment, a 6.7% 30-year fixed mortgage, typical property taxes and insurance, and the 28% rule — housing costs capped at 28% of gross income.

Which state requires the highest salary to buy a home?

Hawaii: its $839,100 median home requires roughly $232,000 a year in household income — versus an actual median income of $100,389.

Where is the salary needed to buy a home the lowest?

West Virginia, where the $162,600 median home requires about $45,000 a year — within reach of the state's median household income of $59,608.

How is the salary requirement calculated?

We compute the monthly cost of the median home — principal and interest on a 6.7% 30-year mortgage with 20% down, plus 0.90% a year in property tax and 0.64% in homeowners insurance — and divide by the 28% share of gross income that lenders consider a safe housing budget.