Most financial experts will tell you that you should spend no more than 30% of your after tax salary on housing-related expenses. A study by HSH.com determined the salary you would need to stay within that range in order to buy a median priced home in 27 cities, factoring in principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments on a median-priced home.
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On a national level, the average median home price in the U.S. is $222,700, meaning if you have good credit and get a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of around 4%, you’d need to earn a little more than $51,000. Different rules apply if you live in San Francisco, which requires the highest salary, about $148,000, with fellow California native, San Diego coming in second at a little more than $103,000. Surprisingly, you only need to make about $87,000 to get a ‘bungalow’ in the Big Apple, as prices in cheaper boroughs balance out the big budgets required to make a purchase in Manhattan.
On the flip side, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Cincinnati require the lowest salaries to buy a median priced home, requiring a salary of just over $30,000 in order to buy a home without bringing on financial stress.