--- title: The Salary You Need to Afford the Average Home Just Fell. But It's Still Six Figures description: You now need nearly $110,000 a year to afford a typical U.S. home, about $22,000 more than median household income. authors: - name: Liliana Hall role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/ bio: Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. She is an Austin-based reporter for Money, where she covers a range of topics, including financial news, policy, banking, investing, passive income, financial planning and student loan debt. education: University of Texas at Austin at_money_since: 2025 articles: 134 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/lilihallllllll - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liliana-hall/ 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: '2026-08-10T12:30:11.000Z' modified: '2026-08-11T15:18:32.000Z' section: Housing word_count: 577 canonical: https://money.com/home-affordability-income-2026/ type: Article 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/). ![Hands with house key with houses in the background.](https://img.money.com/2026/08/News-Income-six-figure-Houses.jpg) The annual income needed to afford the typical U.S. home fell to $109,796 this year, according to a new [analysis](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) from Redfin. While that’s slightly below last year’s record high of $110,382, the amount is still about $22,000 higher than the median U.S. household income of $87,599 — underscoring how far homeownership remains out of reach for many Americans. [Homebuying](https://money.com/spring-homebuying-market-2026/) affordability has essentially held steady over the past year as rising household incomes have kept pace with higher monthly housing costs. In other words, buyers technically need to earn a bit less than they did a year ago, but the [affordability picture](https://money.com/home-buying-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/) has changed very little. “The earnings needed to buy a house have stabilized after several years of deterioration, but that doesn’t mean homes are affordable to the average American,” Redfin senior economist Yingqi Xu said in the [report](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/). Under the traditional 30% rule, housing is considered “[affordable](https://money.com/what-does-affordable-housing-mean/)” when monthly costs consume no more than 30% of a buyer's income (assuming a 15% down payment). By that measure, the typical household would still need to allocate 37.6% of its income to those costs, down from 39.3% a year ago. ## Affordability improves in some markets, but not everywhere While affordability remains strained, there are signs that the market is becoming slightly more manageable for buyers. Approximately one-third (34.2%) of U.S. home listings in June were within reach of a household earning the median income, up from 30.5% a year earlier. That shift also comes as the housing market has become less competitive in many areas of the country. According to a separate [analysis](https://bestinterest.com/research/is-it-a-buyers-or-a-sellers-market/) of Redfin data by Best Interest, homes are increasingly selling [below their original asking prices](https://money.com/homes-selling-below-asking/) in 41 of the country’s largest housing markets, suggesting sellers are becoming more willing to negotiate amid softer buyer demand. But a more buyer-friendly market doesn’t mean homes are [suddenly affordable](https://money.com/road-to-housing-act-home-prices/). Buyers today are still operating in a much tighter market than they were before borrowing costs jumped in 2022. From 2013 through 2021, more than half of U.S. listings fell within the typical buyer's budget in nearly every month during that period. Buyers have seen the biggest improvements in markets where home prices have started to fall. In Seattle, for example, the annual income needed to afford the typical home dropped 7.4% over the past year — the largest decline among the major metros Redfin [analyzed](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/). San Jose, Calif., and Portland, Ore., followed, with the income requirement falling 6.5% and 4.5%, respectively. But even in those markets, homeownership remains out of reach for many households. In San Jose, for example, buyers would still need to earn $423,840 to afford a median-priced home. That's about $250,000 more than the area’s median household income. This trend isn't universal, though. In some parts of the country, the path to homeownership has become even more difficult. Pittsburgh, San Francisco and West Palm Beach, Fla., saw some of the biggest increases in income needed to buy a home, largely due to [rising home prices](https://www.redfin.com/news/home-prices-rise-april-2026/). San Francisco, in particular, remains one of just seven seller’s markets in the country, fueled in part by [renewed demand from the tech sector](http://google.com/url?q=https://www.redfin.com/news/san-francisco-home-prices-march-2026/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1786047215675593&usg=AOvVaw38RF64PYBWzpgAhKwoaVzP). Buyers there now need to earn $453,205 to afford a median-priced home, up 6.2% from a year ago. Redfin economists expect buyers could see some additional relief later this year. Still, they cautioned that progress — in terms of affordability — could disappear if [mortgage rates](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) rise again or inflation pressures push borrowing costs higher. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/home-affordability-income-2026/#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": "Home Prices", "item": "https://money.com/home-prices/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Salary You Need to Afford the Average Home Just Fell. 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