Housing affordability for owners can be determined by how much of any metro’s median household income it takes to cover the cost of the mortgage on a median priced home, and for the first time in 2024, it did not get worse.
Redfin says nationally, a household earning the median U.S. income had to spend 41.8% of their earnings on monthly housing costs, slightly better than the 42.2% in 2022.
Because the math includes variables that differ widely from city to city, some more expensive markets fair better than less expensive ones, like the D.C. metro. Redfin’s rankings used a consistent average 30-year mortgage rate for 2024 through November for calculations in all cities.
The median home price in the D.C. metro for all of 2024 was $557,000, just shy of making the top 10 for the 50 largest metros. But the median household income here was $137,000, the fourth-highest among big cities.
As a result, the share of income in the D.C. metro needed to cover the cost of a median-priced home at current 30-year rates was $3,922 a month, or 34.4% of median household income, well below the national average, the 15th lowest income share among the 50 largest metros.
By contrast, in San Francisco, where median home prices in 2024 were the highest in the nation at an average of $1.5 million, it still took an average 76.2% of income to cover the mortgage, despite the second highest median household income of $159.000. It means the median mortgage payment at 2024 interest rates was more than $10,000 a month.
The share of income needed to afford a home in San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim, California, are similar.
At the other end of the housing affordability rankings for buyers is Pittsburgh, where, despite a relatively low median household income of $79,700, it took just 25.3% of income to cover housing costs at 2024 rates. The median mortgage payment in Pittsburgh last year was less than $1,700 a month.
In Detroit, despite slightly lower household incomes than Pittsburgh, the median home price of just $191,000 meant a mortgage payment of $1,350 a month, the lowest among big cities.
Baltimore ranks lower than D.C. for share of income to cover the mortgage, at 30%, and a monthly median payment of $2,690, though home prices and median incomes are both significantly lower than D.C.
Redfin’s full 2024 affordability rankings for the 50 largest metros, commentary and methodology is online.
