Originally posted on https://www.hscwarranty.com/blog/location-location-location-and-price-a-breakdown-of-house-affordability-by-state/

 

Real Estate by State: A Breakdown of House Affordability Across the US

It’s been said that a home is the most expensive purchase the average person will ever make, which is just one reason why it’s so important to protect what’s inside your home with a home warranty. It’s also been said that when it comes to real estate, the three most important factors are “location, location, and location.” Interestingly enough, for those in the market to purchase a home, location and price are often even more intertwined than one might expect (and we’re not just talking about how close the schools are or whether there’s easy freeway access).

Every state in the Nation is its own unique economic microcosm — the worth of a dollar can depend pretty heavily on where that dollar is being spent. Real estate prices are particularly dependant on region. For example, a home that might go for $500k in California may only cost you $150k in Ohio. To add more variables to the mix, average salaries and household incomes vary from state to state as well. The question then is this: How affordable are homes in every state, and how much should you be earning if you plan to purchase one?

Well, we’ve got the answers.

Using data from every part of the country, we’ve compiled state-specific information on home listings, average salaries, median homeowner incomes, and more. So, if you’re ready to purchase a home somewhere in the U.S., we can tell you what kind of money you’ll need to make it happen.

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky

• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota

• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Alabama

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $47,960
• Median household income: $44,765
• Median home listing price: $143,500
• Random fact: The song Sweet Home Alabama shares its name with an actual place. Sweet Home, Alabama is a historic house on Arlington Avenue that combines Queen Anne and Neoclassical styles.

Alaska

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $67,280
• Median household income: $73,355
• Median home listing price: $291,536
• Random fact: Looking for a some beachfront property? Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined. Just make sure to pack some snow shoes.

Arizona

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $67,280
• Median household income: $51,492
• Median home listing price: $209,000
• Random fact: Ever heard the children’s rhyme “London Bridges Falling Down?” The original London Bridge was dismantled, shaped stone-by-stone, and rebuilt in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Arkansas

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $41,040
• Median household income: $41,995
• Median home listing price: $145,000
• Random fact: A historic restoration area in Little Rock, Arkansas called the Quapaw Quarter features Victorian and antebellum homes, chapels, and civil war barracks.

California

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $120,120
• Median household income: $64,500
• Median home listing price: $422,500
• Random fact: California is the most populated state in America. With almost 40,000,000 residents, one in eight United States residents live there.

Colorado

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $100,200
• Median household income: $63,909
• Median home listing price: $300,000
• Random fact: After the discovery of “The Gregory Lode” in a gulch near Central City, Colorado, the area became known as “The Richest Square Mile on Earth.”

Connecticut

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $75,280
• Median household income: $71,346
• Median home listing price: $227,500
• Random fact: The total forested area in Connecticut was approximately 10% in 1800. Today the total forested area is about 60%.

Delaware

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $67,960
• Median household income: $61,255
• Median home listing price: $212,000
• Random fact: The United States’ first scheduled railroad began in New Castle, Delaware in 1831.

Florida

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $70,360
• Median household income: $49,426
• Median home listing price: $185,000
• Random fact: With high heat and humidity in Florida, it is no surprise that the first mechanical refrigerator was invented there in 1851 by Dr. John Gorrie.

Georgia

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $59,520
• Median household income: $51,244
• Median home listing price: $166,900
• Random fact: President Jefferson Davis, and the confederate Generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee are immortalized in the world’s largest sculpture at Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Hawaii

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $153,520
• Median household income: $73,486
• Median home listing price: $485,000
• Random fact: The closest landmass to Hawaii is California, 2,390 miles away, making Hawaii the most isolated population center on the planet.

Idaho

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $70,360
• Median household income: $48,275
• Median home listing price: $210,489
• Random fact: Henry Harmon Spalding brought the first potato to Lapwai, Idaho, in 1836. Today Idaho produces one-third of all potatoes grown in the United States.

Illinois

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $53,880
• Median household income: $59,588
• Median home listing price: $185,000
• Random fact: The world’s first skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1885 and standing ten stories high, it towered over the rest of the city.

Indiana

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $42,560
• Median household income: $50,532
• Median home listing price: $163,233
• Random fact: Ever wonder where all those letters to Santa Claus end up? Santa Claus, Indiana receives over half of a million letters during the holiday season.

Iowa

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $44,360
• Median household income: $54,736
• Median home listing price: $144,300
• Random fact: Sliced bread was first invented by Otto Rohwedder in Davenport, Iowa.

Kansas

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $43,160
• Median household income: $53,906
• Median home listing price: $157,938
• Random fact: A ball of yarn located in Cawker City, Kansas weighs 16,750 pounds with a circumference of 38 feet, and is still being added to.

Kentucky

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $44,360
• Median household income: $45,215
• Median home listing price: $140,000
• Random fact: The Kentucky Derby horse race is held on the first Saturday of May. It is the oldest continuously held horse race in the United States.

Louisiana

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $50,320
• Median household income: $45,727
• Median home listing price: $162,000
• Random fact: The state government of Louisiana, termed the Napoleonic Code, is based off of the Civil Code established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804.

Maine

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $55,520
• Median household income: $51,494
• Median home listing price: $235,220
• Random fact: 90% (about 40 million pounds) of the United States lobster supply is caught off of the coast of Maine.

Maryland

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $101,320
• Median household income: $75,847
• Median home listing price: $242,000
• Random fact: In 1902, Maryland became the first state to pass a workers’ compensation law, but it was later declared unconstitutional.

Massachusetts

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $101,320
• Median household income: $70,628
• Median home listing price: $339,900
• Random fact: In 1716, America’s first lighthouse was built in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts.

Michigan

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $40,800
• Median household income: $51,084
• Median home listing price: $134,900
• Random fact: Detroit, Michigan is called the car capital of the world, producing approximately 2 million cars and trucks per year.

Minnesota

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $64,720
• Median household income: $63,488
• Median home listing price: $219,900
• Random fact: Known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” Minnesota contains 11,842 lakes that have an area over ten acres.

Mississippi

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $44,360
• Median household income: $40,593
• Median home listing price: $207,783
• Random fact: The world’s first lung transplant and heart transplant were performed at Mississippi Medical Center in 1963 and 1964, respectively.

Missouri

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $42,200
• Median household income: $50,238
• Median home listing price: $159,668
• Random fact: Missouri was named after a Sioux tribe of Native Americans called the Missouris. The word “Missouri” means “wooden canoe people.”

Montana

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $75,520
• Median household income: $49,509
• Median home listing price: $230,608
• Random fact: The average square mile of land in Montana contains 3.3 deer, 1.4 pronghorn antelope, and 1.4 elk.

Nebraska

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $51,520
• Median household income: $54,996
• Median home listing price: $152,000
• Random fact: The nickname of Nebraska used to be the “Tree Planter’s State.”  With the increase in corn crops the nickname was changed to the “Cornhusker State.”

Nevada

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $73,120
• Median household income: $52,431
• Median home listing price: $216,000
• Random fact: The phrase, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” was originally coined, “What happens here, stays here” — first used in Nevada’s Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority ad campaigns.

New Hampshire

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $68,440
• Median household income: $70,303
• Median home listing price: $232,000
• Random fact: Six months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, New Hampshire declared independence from England, becoming the first colony to cut ties with the mother country.

New Jersey

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $69,640
• Median household income: $72,222
• Median home listing price: $265,000
• Random fact: With 525 diners in New Jersey, it is known as the “Diner Capital of the Country.”

New Mexico

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $54,880
• Median household income: $45,382
• Median home listing price: $196,330
• Random fact: Santa Fe, New Mexico was founded by Spanish settlers 10 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth.

New York

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $91,720
• Median household income: $60,850
• Median home listing price: $247,000
• Random fact: The only college in the world that offers a Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing is the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, New York.

North Carolina

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $63,840
• Median household income: $47,830
• Median home listing price: $177,000
• Random fact: The first successful powered aircraft flight occurred at Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina by the Wright Brothers.

North Dakota

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $56,000
• Median household income: $60,557
• Median home listing price: $190,000
• Random fact: North Dakota is the number-one producer of honey in the United States. The state produces approximately 33.7 million pounds of honey per year.

Ohio

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $38,400
• Median household income: $51,075
• Median home listing price: $130,000
• Random fact: After the invention of the electric traffic light in 1912 by Lester Wire, the first traffic signal system was installed on East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio.

Oklahoma

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $45,320
• Median household income: $48,568
• Median home listing price: $130,500
• Random fact: The world’s first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on July 16, 1935.

Oregon

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $87,160
• Median household income: $54,148
• Median home listing price: $275,000
• Random fact: With over 250 ghost towns, Oregon has the largest number of abandoned towns in the nation.

Pennsylvania

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $47,960
• Median household income: $55,702
• Median home listing price: $161,000
• Random fact: Pennsylvania was the first state to include its website URL on its licence plate designs.

Rhode Island

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $69,640
• Median household income: $58,073
• Median home listing price: $230,000
• Random fact: With an area of only 1,214 square miles, Rhode Island is the smallest state in the United States. The distance North to South is 48 miles and the distance West to East is 37 miles.

South Carolina

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $58,840
• Median household income: $47,238
• Median home listing price: $161,500
• Random fact: At one time, South Carolina’s license plate read “The Iodine State.” This nickname was used to bring attention to the high levels of the chemical found in the states fruits and vegetables by the South Carolina Natural Resources Commission.

South Dakota

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $55,360
• Median household income: $54,467
• Median home listing price: $182,900
• Random fact: One of the most famous American monuments is Mount Rushmore National Memorial fount in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The monument only took 14 years and $1 million to complete.

Tennessee

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $55,760
• Median household income: $47,275
• Median home listing price: $145,000
• Random fact: Tennessee was given the nickname “The Volunteer State,” during the war of 1812 after Tennessee soldiers served under Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans.

Texas

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $66,080
• Median household income: $55,653
• Median home listing price: $214,783
• Random fact: Texas is known as “The Lone Star State” to represent its previous status as an independent republic.

Utah

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $83,720
• Median household income: $62,912
• Median home listing price: $258,665
• Random fact: The world’s first transcontinental railroad was completed in Promontory, Utah in 1869, where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met.

Vermont

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $62,600
• Median household income: $56,990
• Median home listing price: $195,000
• Random fact: The only state capital without a McDonald’s restaurant is Montpelier, Vermont.

Virginia

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $71,960
• Median household income: $66,262
• Median home listing price: $297,000
• Random fact: Beginning in colonial times, tobacco became Virginia’s cash crop. To this day many still benefit from the crop in Virginia.

Washington

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $87,040
• Median household income: $64,129
• Median home listing price: $299,000
• Random fact: Seattle, Washington is home to the world’s first revolving restaurant. It is located 500 feet above sea level atop the Space Needle.

West Virginia

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $38,320
• Median household income: $42,019
• Median home listing price: $122,550
• Random fact: Due to civil war tensions, West Virginia became the only state to gain sovereignty by order of the President of the United States.

Wisconsin

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $50,080
• Median household income: $55,638
• Median home listing price: $167,200
• Random fact: The American Birkebeiner in Wisconsin is the largest cross country ski race in the United States. Approximately 5,000 competitors race each year.

Wyoming

• Average salary needed to afford a home: $58,000
• Median household income: $60,214
• Median home listing price: $219,450
• Random fact: The majority of Yellowstone National Park is located in Wyoming. Many of its natural wonders are the result of the park being the basin of an active supervolcano.