Median U.S. home prices push required income to record levels
The Atlanta Federal Reserve reports that a household now needs $124,674 annually to afford a median-priced home, far above the national median income.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Home Ownership Affordability Monitor indicates that a typical U.S. household must earn $124,674 annually to afford a median-priced home, a figure that surpasses the national median income by 44 %. The calculation includes mortgage principal, interest, property taxes, home insurance and private mortgage insurance, and deems housing unaffordable when costs exceed 30 % of income, the HUD benchmark.
The affordability index dropped by 25.2 % over the year to April 2022, the sharpest decline in the dataset dating back to 2006, as higher home prices and steep interest-rate hikes outweighed modest wage gains. Inflation further eroded real income gains, especially for middle- and lower-income families. In Nashville, the gap is even wider, with a median-income household needing about $138,000 a year to stay within the 30 % threshold. Similar affordability pressures are evident across the EU, where house prices rose 53 % from 2015 to 2024.
Why it matters
Rising home costs outpace wages, making homeownership increasingly unattainable for average families.
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