--- title: It Now Takes More Than 50 Years to Save for a Down Payment in These Cities description: Saving for a home down payment now takes decades in some U.S. cities. See where buyers face the longest wait. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 498 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Housing - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes published: '2026-07-10T15:13:07.000Z' modified: '2026-07-10T15:13:07.000Z' section: Housing tags: - News - real estate word_count: 575 canonical: https://money.com/down-payment-saving-years/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Collage of saving and housing related objects](https://img.money.com/2026/07/News-down-payment.jpg) If you're starting from scratch, [saving for a down payment](https://money.com/how-to-save-for-a-down-payment/) on your first home could take half your life, depending on where you're buying. In two major U.S. metro areas, the typical first-time homebuyer would need to save for at least 50 years, according to a [new report](https://www.rocketcompanies.com/press-release/in-americas-most-expensive-cities-saving-for-a-first-home-down-payment-could-take-65-years-in-parts-of-the-midwest-it-takes-just-4/) by real estate lender Rocket Mortgage. Those cities are New York and San Francisco, where it requires an estimated 65 years and 57 years of saving to afford the standard down payment, respectively. “Saving for a down payment takes years of discipline, which is why receiving the keys is such a meaningful milestone,” Bill Banfield, Rocket’s chief business officer, said in the report. “For anyone hoping to own a home someday, it’s never too early to understand what buyers are putting down in your market and start building a plan.” In 13 cities, first-time buyers would need to save for at least 20 years, the analysis found. But in several popular metros in the South and Midwest — including Detroit and Fort Worth, Texas — buyers could reach a down payment in five years or less. Rocket’s analysis looked at nearly 50 major metros across the U.S. It calculated the required years of savings based on local home prices and down payment trends for first-time buyers and assumed they were saving 5% of their annual income. ## Saving for a down payment, by city Down payments are consistently a major barrier for homebuyers, according to the [Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies](https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_The_State_of_the_Nations_Housing_2026_0.pdf). For first-time buyers, [down payments can be a downright nightmare](https://money.com/homebuyers-saving-down-payment-nightmare/). That’s because these buyers are typically younger, have less money saved and can't tap equity from the sale of an existing home to help fund the purchase. The prospect of saving for decades to afford a down payment can be demoralizing. But there are ways to sidestep that roadblock. And they largely boil down to location. How Long It Takes First-Time Buyers to Save a Down Payment, by Metro | Metro | Years to Save for a Down Payment | Median Down Payment for First-Time Buyers ($) | Median Down Payment (%) | Median Home Price for First-Time Buyers | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | New York, NY | 65.2 | $265,000 | 30% | $883,333 | | San Francisco, CA | 57.2 | $400,000 | 26.60% | $1,501,466 | | Los Angeles, CA | 41.5 | $170,500 | 20% | $852,500 | | Boston, MA | 37.8 | $185,000 | 22.60% | $819,573 | | Anaheim, CA | 33.6 | $170,000 | 20% | $850,000 | | San Jose, CA | 33.6 | $249,000 | 22% | $1,113,595 | | San Diego, CA | 25.8 | $143,500 | 20% | $717,500 | | Oakland, CA | 25.4 | $130,000 | 20% | $650,000 | | Washington, D.C. | 23.6 | $129,500 | 20% | $647,500 | | Austin, TX | 21.2 | $95,700 | 20% | $478,500 | | Seattle, WA | 21.2 | $125,700 | 20% | $628,500 | | Nassau County, NY | 21 | $150,000 | 20% | $750,000 | | Providence, RI | 20.6 | $63,750 | 15% | $425,000 | | Nashville, TN | 15 | $60,200 | 15.80% | $379,954 | | Portland, OR | 13 | $59,670 | 12.80% | $467,928 | | Miami, FL | 12.9 | $42,745 | 7.70% | $556,155 | | Denver, CO | 12.8 | $59,000 | 12.70% | $466,100 | | New Brunswick, NJ | 10.2 | $58,500 | 15% | $390,000 | | Montgomery County, PA | 10 | $56,000 | 18.60% | $301,399 | | Sacramento, CA | 9.9 | $45,407 | 10% | $454,065 | | Charlotte, NC | 9.3 | $40,000 | 10% | $400,000 | | Philadelphia, PA | 9.1 | $27,275 | 10% | $274,750 | | Chicago, IL | 8.7 | $35,125 | 10% | $351,250 | | Newark, NJ | 8.6 | $25,102 | 6.20% | $404,574 | | Tampa, FL | 8.5 | $35,625 | 10% | $356,250 | | Dallas, TX | 8.4 | $31,225 | 9.40% | $333,002 | | Cincinnati, OH | 8.3 | $23,500 | 8.10% | $289,917 | | Riverside, CA | 8.1 | $36,600 | 5.40% | $681,232 | | Saint Louis, MO | 8.1 | $21,675 | 9.90% | $218,189 | | Orlando, FL | 7.9 | $30,750 | 8.80% | $350,813 | | Minneapolis, MN | 7.1 | $27,500 | 7.90% | $347,806 | | Atlanta, GA | 6.8 | $29,970 | 9.60% | $310,817 | | Phoenix, AZ | 6.6 | $28,000 | 6.20% | $449,198 | | Houston, TX | 6.4 | $20,512 | 7.30% | $282,105 | | Baltimore, MD | 6.2 | $20,000 | 7.70% | $260,917 | | Kansas City, MO | 6.2 | $21,750 | 7.30% | $298,399 | | Pittsburgh, PA | 6.2 | $20,715 | 9.10% | $226,817 | | Las Vegas, NV | 6.1 | $23,886 | 5.30% | $447,471 | | San Antonio, TX | 5.6 | $18,628 | 7.20% | $258,948 | | West Palm Beach, FL | 5.3 | $19,569 | 5.70% | $344,521 | | Cleveland, OH | 5.1 | $11,148 | 5.30% | $209,758 | | Columbus, OH | 5.1 | $17,001 | 6.50% | $262,121 | | Jacksonville, FL | 4.7 | $17,121 | 6.20% | $277,717 | | Indianapolis, IN | 4.4 | $14,600 | 5.60% | $261,273 | | Milwaukee, WI | 4.4 | $12,375 | 5% | $247,500 | | Fort Worth, TX | 4.3 | $17,867 | 5.80% | $306,589 | | Virginia Beach, VA | 4.3 | $20,450 | 6.30% | $323,993 | | Detroit, MI | 3.9 | $7,600 | 5% | $152,000 | | Warren, MI | 3.1 | $8,797 | 5% | $175,940 | _*Adam Hardy for Money.com; Rocket Morgage*_ Nationally, the median down payment is now $64,000, according to [Redfin](https://www.redfin.com/news/down-payments-fall-2026/). As a percentage, that translates to 15% of the median sale price. But that picture can vary drastically from city to city. In Rocket’s analysis, the time it takes to save for a down payment is not just a reflection of home prices of the area. The estimate also accounts for local incomes and the typical down payment percentage in each market. In New York, for instance, not only are home prices high, but the typical down payment is a whopping 30%. Rocket noted that the percentage is so high because condo associations in the city tend to have strict rules that require between 20% and 30% down payments. Large down payments can also be a reflection of the competitiveness of the housing market. Increasingly, first-time buyers have to compete with all-cash buyers, which can result in higher down payments across the board. A massive down payment isn't always necessary, however. In fact, single-digit-percentage down payments are customary in about two dozen major cities, including Miami, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. Down payment assistance programs are another key method to help first-time buyers afford a home. The Urban Institute identified more than [1,600 such programs across the country](https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/expanding-down-payment-assistance-awareness-could-help-more-people-afford-home). Some programs provide publicly funded grant money with no strings attached, while others extend interest-free loans that are essentially second mortgages. One notable option available nationwide is through the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, a nonprofit housing group that runs a [homebuying program boasting zero down payment and a discounted mortgage rate](https://money.com/how-i-bought-house-no-down-payment/). ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/down-payment-saving-years/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Housing", "item": "https://money.com/housing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "News", "item": "https://money.com/tag/news/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It Now Takes More Than 50 Years to Save for a Down Payment in These Cities" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/down-payment-saving-years/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/down-payment-saving-years/", "name": "It Now Takes More Than 50 Years to Save for a Down Payment in These Cities", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-07-10T15:13:07.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/down-payment-saving-years/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/down-payment-saving-years/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2026-07-10T15:13:07.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "It Now Takes More Than 50 Years to Save for a Down Payment in These Cities", "articleSection": "Housing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/07/News-down-payment.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-down-payment" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. 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