Buying a ‘Typical, Median-Priced’ Home in the Cowboy State is Getting More Expensive

In 30 states as well as the District of Columbia, Americans need a household income of more than $100,000 annually to afford a typical, median-priced home.

A new study looking at the housing market suggests that, nationwide, homeowners must earn $116,986 to afford a median-priced home, an increase of 50% from $78,236 in 2020.

Additionally the national median price for a home increased by 20% when adjusted for inflation, from $349,750 in 2020 to $418,489 so far this year, according to Bankrate's analysis.

The top five states where the household income needed to afford a typical home grew the most since 2020 in Utah (+89.4%), Montana (+84.6%), Wyoming (+79%), Maine (+77.4%), and Tennessee (+76.9%).

Since January 2020, the income needed to afford a typical home has increased the least in Texas (+25.8%), Louisiana (+26%), Kansas (+31.1%), North Dakota (+33.6%) and Illiniois (+35.2%).

"For many buyers, homeownership feels like it’s moving farther out of reach. Unfortunately for buyers, it seems unlikely that either home prices or mortgage rates will fall dramatically in the near future" says housing market analyst Jeff Ostrowski.

This study is based on an analysis of the minimum annual pre-tax income a household needs to afford a median-priced home in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in 2025 compared to 2020. To determine how much Americans need to earn to afford a typical home, Bankrate accessed Redfin’s median sale price data from January 2020 and January 2025 on Feb. 13 to calculate monthly mortgage payments for every state, the District of Columbia and nationwide.

Monthly mortgage payments for 2025 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia were calculated assuming a 20% down payment, no HOA fees or PMI, the 52-week average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage, 2023 average state property taxes, and 2025 average homeowners insurance rates.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate over 52 weeks was 6.92% as of the week of February 17, according to Bankrate’s survey of large lenders.

Bankrate used 2025 internal Quadrant data to factor in the average cost of homeowners insurance in every state, the District of Columbia and nationwide in the calculations.

Bankrate also included the latest statewide property tax data from ATTOM (2023), a provider of nationwide real estate data, in its calculations. Based on the same assumptions, Bankrate estimated the nationwide monthly mortgage payment as of January 2025.

Monthly mortgage payments for 2020 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia were calculated assuming a 20% down payment, no HOA fees or PMI, the 52-week average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage in 2020, 2020 average state property taxes, and 2022 average homeowners insurance rates.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage rate in 2020 was 3.38%, according to Bankrate’s survey of large lenders. Bankrate used 2022 internal Quadrant data to factor in the average cost of homeowners insurance in every state, the District of Columbia and nationwide in the calculations.

Bankrate also included 2020 statewide property tax data from ATTOM in its calculations. Based on the same assumptions, Bankrate estimated the nationwide monthly mortgage payment for January 2020.