In 2024, the median price for a single-family home in the United States grew to five times more than the median household income, as reported by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. In 2019, this ratio had median prices at 4.1 times higher than median household income; in the 1990s, the ratio was 3.2.
The report defines this level of prices as “historically high” and notes homeownership remains largely out of reach for people with low or moderate incomes, due to high prices and also boosted mortgage rates. High prices mean saving longer to afford a down payment, and “down payments are already a significant barrier to homeownership, especially for first-time buyers, younger people and households of color” the report states
“If price-to-income ratios remain high, all but the most-resourced buyers will be barred from homeownership’s financial opportunities and may have less choice about the communities and types of homes in which they live,” the report concluded.
Price growth during the pandemic is cited as the primary cause—prices were also found to have continued to rise during 2024 in 77 of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas. Meanwhile, only one quarter of markets showed median prices that were less than four times higher than the median income, compared to 59 markets in 2019.
The markets with the greatest ratios between price-to-income ratio included coastal regions of southern California, southern Florida and counties scattered throughout the Pacific Northwest and western plains states. The specific markets with the most disparate ratios included (but were not exclusive to) several California metro areas, including San Jose (prices twelve times higher than household income), Los Angeles (10.8 times) and San Francisco (10.5), as well as Honolulu, Hawaii (10.3).
The lowest price-to-income ratios were generally scattered across the south and midwest. Only three markets were found to have a price-to-income ratio lower than three times household income: Toledo, Ohio (2.8 times income), Akron, Ohio (2.9) and McAllen, Texas (2.9).
For the full research, click here.
