Do you earn enough to afford a house in the largest U.S. metros

Do you earn enough to afford a house in the largest U.S. metros Do you earn enough to afford a house in the largest U.S. metros Owning a home is one of the biggest financial milestones. Data from the  U.S. Census Bureau  indicates that the homeownership rate nationwide is 64.8%, slowly reversing a downward trend that started in 2004. Despite these recent gains, homeownership is still out of reach for many people. One of the main reasons for this is that  wages haven’t kept pace with soaring home prices, and many people are priced out of the real estate market.Fortunately, some parts of the U.S. are friendlier to potential homebuyers’ wallets than others. Our latest visualization illustrates the salary that a household needs to make in order to buy a median-priced home in the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!  The data for this visualization comes from the mortgage information site  HSH Associates. In conducting their analysis, HSH compiled median-home price data from the National Association of Realtors, national mortgage rate data from Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, and property tax and homeowner’s insurance costs data to determine the annual salary it takes to afford a home (including principal, interest, property tax and homeowner’s insurance, or PITI) in the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas. The analysis also assumed a down payment of 20%.The top 5 metro areas with the highest salary required for buying a home1. San Jose, CA â€" $254,835.73 2. San Francisco,CA â€" $198,978.01 3. San Diego, CA â€" $131,640.79 4. Los Angeles, CA â€" $123,156.01 5. Boston, MA â€" $106,789.93The bottom 5 metro areas with the lowest salary required for buying a home1. Pittsburgh, PA â€" $37,659.86 2. Cleveland, OH â€" $40,437.72 3. Oklahoma City, OK â€" $41,335.41 4. Memphis, TN â€" $41,400.93 5. Indianapolis, IN â€" $42,288.92In general, metro areas in the Midwest and the South require lower salaries than metro areas on the West Coast and the East Coast. The most expensive metros are located in California, especially near Silicon Valley. For example, San Jose requires the highest salary ($254,835.73) for a median-priced home and San Francisco requires the second-highest salary ($198,978.01). Metros in the Northeast, like Boston ($106,789.93) and New York ($105,684.33) are similarly expensive. On the flip side, Pittsburgh only requires a salary of $37,659.86 to buy a median-priced home. Metro areas like Memphis ($41,400.93) and Oklahoma City ($41,335.41) require about one-sixth the salary required in San Jose.HSH notes that when looking at the nation overall, you would need to earn $61,453 in order to buy a home. However, 24 of the largest 50 metro areas require a higher salary to make it affordable. It’s also worth noting that even within metro areas, home prices and sa laries can differ by zip code or neighborhood, so final costs could vary even more. Overall, when deciding where to buy a home or look for a job, taking the area’s salaries and housing costs into consideration becomes even more important.Curious how this differs from the most expensive metro areas last year? Compare to our  2018 visualization  on this topic.This article originally appeared on How Much.You might also enjoy… New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy Strangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds 10 lessons from Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule that will double your productivity The worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs 10 habits of mentally strong people