This Is How Much Money You Need to Make to Buy a Home in 2024
It’s no secret that recent rising costs have made homeownership difficult for buyers, and a new Bankrate report is only adding more fuel to the (financial) fire. The report, published on April 1, concluded that, in order to buy a house at the average median price (which sells for $402,343, according to Redfin data), Americans need to make $110,871 annually. This is a whopping 46% increase from 2020, marking a tough road ahead for would-be buyers in an already tough market, and doesn’t include money in savings to buy a house.
Since January 2020, the number of states where you need to make $100,000 or more annually to afford a median-priced house has risen from seven to 22, plus the District of Columbia.
California tops the list of states where you need to make the highest salary to afford a home. If you want to buy a median-priced home in the Golden State, you’ll have to make $197,057, according to Bankrate’s data. A recent USA Today study, updated in March 2024, found that in California the cost of living makes up 77.2% of the average resident’s income. Hawaii was marked second-most expensive in the Bankrate report, requiring homeowners to make a $185,829 salary. In third was the District of Columbia, where homeowners need to make $167,871 annually.
Here are the top 10 most expensive states on Bankrate’s list.
- California ($197,057)
- Hawaii ($185,829)
- District of Columbia ($167,871)
- Massachusetts ($162,471)
- Washington ($156,814)
- Colorado ($152,229)
- New Jersey ($152,186)
- New York ($148,286)
- Utah ($133,886)
- Rhode Island ($132,343)
According to Bankrate’s report, states in the Midwest and the South marked states with the greatest opportunity to buy — especially for first-time homebuyers. So if you’re trying to decide where to move, you might consider a state in those areas. Mississippi currently requires the lowest income to afford a home ($63,043), followed closely behind by Ohio ($64,071), Arkansas ($64,714), and Indiana ($65,143).
You can read Bankrate’s full report here.