What does the United States required income to buy a home measure?

It measures the qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced home in the United States based on monthly housing payments, assuming standard down payments and a maximum housing cost share of income.

How often is this United States housing affordability data published and how far back does it go?

It is published monthly by Redfin and the series go back to 2012, updating with every new release.

What demographic and financial breakdowns are available in this table?

The table includes breakdowns by household groups such as homeowners, renters, and racial categories, alongside required income tiers by down payment percentage and monthly housing cost components.

How do mortgage rates affect this United States affordability metric?

Higher interest rates increase monthly mortgage payments for the same home price, raising the qualifying income threshold required to buy a home even when median house prices remain flat.

US Required Income to Buy a Home by Group

Name: US Required Income to Buy a Home by Group
Creator: Redfin Data Center
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

US housing affordability and required income to buy a home by group.

Source: Redfin Data CenterLast updated: Sep 21, 2026, 15:06Curated by Bui Thanh PhucAbout this data ↓

Indicator	06-2026	05-2026	04-2026	03-2026	02-2026	01-2026	12-2025	11-2025	10-2025	09-2025	08-2025	07-2025	06-2025	05-2025	04-2025	03-2025	02-2025	01-2025	12-2024	11-2024	10-2024	09-2024	08-2024	07-2024	06-2024	05-2024	04-2024	03-2024	02-2024	01-2024	12-2023	11-2023	10-2023	09-2023	08-2023	07-2023	06-2023
Required Income to Buy a Home	100,546	97,967	95,833	93,402	89,985	89,783	92,284	93,286	93,969	94,539	96,750	99,078	101,158	98,907	97,154	95,973	95,780	95,983	95,238	95,966	94,134	90,930	94,700	98,799	100,428	100,298	97,430	94,758	92,197	89,615	90,755	95,576	98,345	95,648	96,546	94,696	94,907
MONTHLY COSTS1
Total Monthly Housing Cost3	2,514	2,449	2,396	2,335	2,250	2,245	2,307	2,332	2,349	2,363	2,419	2,477	2,529	2,473	2,429	2,399	2,394	2,400	2,381	2,399	2,353	2,273	2,368	2,470	2,511	2,507	2,436	2,369	2,305	2,240	2,269	2,389	2,459	2,391	2,414	2,367	2,373
Principal and Interest	2,065	2,010	1,962	1,907	1,832	1,830	1,884	1,907	1,921	1,936	1,991	2,043	2,090	2,043	2,004	1,977	1,979	1,988	1,966	1,984	1,933	1,858	1,947	2,044	2,080	2,082	2,020	1,959	1,905	1,847	1,881	2,002	2,066	1,996	2,010	1,964	1,964
Property Taxes	278	272	269	266	259	257	262	264	266	265	266	269	272	266	264	262	258	255	257	257	260	257	260	264	266	263	257	253	247	243	237	237	241	242	247	247	251
Homeowners Insurance	170	167	165	163	158	157	160	161	163	162	163	165	167	163	161	160	158	156	158	158	160	158	160	162	164	162	158	156	153	150	150	150	152	153	156	156	158
REQUIRED INCOME BY DOWN PAYMENT5
3.5% Down Payment	129,163	125,883	123,212	120,183	115,869	115,577	118,739	119,996	120,868	121,536	124,222	127,127	129,731	126,843	124,651	123,187	122,821	123,008	122,222	123,100	120,987	117,024	121,670	126,708	128,752	128,497	124,866	121,544	118,282	115,052	116,476	122,292	125,729	122,524	123,754	121,522	121,874
5% Down Payment	125,570	122,375	119,765	116,803	112,595	112,317	115,401	116,628	117,477	118,139	120,779	123,619	126,164	123,356	121,213	119,780	119,446	119,642	118,848	119,712	117,612	113,731	118,285	123,226	125,222	124,990	121,450	118,200	115,024	111,867	113,265	118,990	122,354	119,190	120,371	118,174	118,501
10% Down Payment	118,364	115,350	112,885	110,086	106,114	105,854	108,765	109,924	110,724	111,353	113,852	116,536	118,939	116,292	114,268	112,913	112,607	112,797	112,033	112,852	110,856	107,186	111,493	116,167	118,052	117,840	114,499	111,428	108,431	105,450	106,761	112,186	115,365	112,363	113,471	111,390	111,692
15% Down Payment	109,796	106,992	104,688	102,069	98,366	98,133	100,845	101,928	102,672	103,270	105,626	108,136	110,382	107,926	106,033	104,764	104,509	104,703	103,952	104,726	102,816	99,374	103,417	107,808	109,568	109,393	106,281	103,405	100,619	97,832	99,058	104,181	107,159	104,312	105,321	103,355	103,616
20% Down Payment	100,546	97,967	95,833	93,402	89,985	89,783	92,284	93,286	93,969	94,539	96,750	99,078	101,158	98,907	97,154	95,973	95,780	95,983	95,238	95,966	94,134	90,930	94,700	98,799	100,428	100,298	97,430	94,758	92,197	89,615	90,755	95,576	98,345	95,648	96,546	94,696	94,907
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME7
All households	87,599	87,599	87,599	87,599	87,599	87,599	84,257	84,257	84,257	84,257	84,257	84,257	84,257	84,257	84,257	84,257	84,257	84,257	80,734	80,734	80,734	80,734	80,734	80,734	80,734	80,734	80,734	80,734	80,734	80,734	78,538	78,538	78,538	78,538	78,538	78,538	78,538
Homeowners	108,930	108,930	108,930	108,930	108,930	108,930	104,573	104,573	104,573	104,573	104,573	104,573	104,573	104,573	104,573	104,573	104,573	104,573	100,009	100,009	100,009	100,009	100,009	100,009	100,009	100,009	100,009	100,009	100,009	100,009	97,352	97,352	97,352	97,352	97,352	97,352	97,352
Renters	57,386	57,386	57,386	57,386	57,386	57,386	55,215	55,215	55,215	55,215	55,215	55,215	55,215	55,215	55,215	55,215	55,215	55,215	52,966	52,966	52,966	52,966	52,966	52,966	52,966	52,966	52,966	52,966	52,966	52,966	51,393	51,393	51,393	51,393	51,393	51,393	51,393
White households	94,284	94,284	94,284	94,284	94,284	94,284	90,686	90,686	90,686	90,686	90,686	90,686	90,686	90,686	90,686	90,686	90,686	90,686	86,872	86,872	86,872	86,872	86,872	86,872	86,872	86,872	86,872	86,872	86,872	86,872	84,745	84,745	84,745	84,745	84,745	84,745	84,745
Black households	59,926	59,926	59,926	59,926	59,926	59,926	57,584	57,584	57,584	57,584	57,584	57,584	57,584	57,584	57,584	57,584	57,584	57,584	55,157	55,157	55,157	55,157	55,157	55,157	55,157	55,157	55,157	55,157	55,157	55,157	53,444	53,444	53,444	53,444	53,444	53,444	53,444
Hispanic households	77,589	77,589	77,589	77,589	77,589	77,589	74,557	74,557	74,557	74,557	74,557	74,557	74,557	74,557	74,557	74,557	74,557	74,557	71,415	71,415	71,415	71,415	71,415	71,415	71,415	71,415	71,415	71,415	71,415	71,415	68,890	68,890	68,890	68,890	68,890	68,890	68,890
Asian households	126,575	126,575	126,575	126,575	126,575	126,575	121,629	121,629	121,629	121,629	121,629	121,629	121,629	121,629	121,629	121,629	121,629	121,629	116,503	116,503	116,503	116,503	116,503	116,503	116,503	116,503	116,503	116,503	116,503	116,503	113,106	113,106	113,106	113,106	113,106	113,106	113,106
HOUSING SHARE OF INCOME7
All households	34.43	33.55	32.82	31.99	30.82	30.75	32.86	33.21	33.46	33.66	34.45	35.28	36.02	35.22	34.59	34.17	34.1	34.18	35.39	35.66	34.98	33.79	35.19	36.71	37.32	37.27	36.2	35.21	34.26	33.3	34.67	36.51	37.57	36.54	36.88	36.17	36.25
Homeowners	27.69	26.98	26.39	25.72	24.78	24.73	26.47	26.76	26.96	27.12	27.76	28.42	29.02	28.37	27.87	27.53	27.48	27.54	28.57	28.79	28.24	27.28	28.41	29.64	30.13	30.09	29.23	28.42	27.66	26.88	27.97	29.45	30.31	29.47	29.75	29.18	29.25
Renters	52.56	51.21	50.1	48.83	47.04	46.94	50.14	50.69	51.06	51.37	52.57	53.83	54.96	53.74	52.79	52.15	52.04	52.15	53.94	54.36	53.32	51.5	53.64	55.96	56.88	56.81	55.18	53.67	52.22	50.76	52.98	55.79	57.41	55.83	56.36	55.28	55.4
White households	31.99	31.17	30.49	29.72	28.63	28.57	30.53	30.86	31.09	31.27	32.01	32.78	33.46	32.72	32.14	31.75	31.68	31.75	32.89	33.14	32.51	31.4	32.7	34.12	34.68	34.64	33.65	32.72	31.84	30.95	32.13	33.83	34.81	33.86	34.18	33.52	33.6
Black households	50.34	49.04	47.98	46.76	45.05	44.95	48.08	48.6	48.96	49.25	50.4	51.62	52.7	51.53	50.61	50	49.9	50.01	51.8	52.2	51.2	49.46	51.51	53.74	54.62	54.55	52.99	51.54	50.15	48.74	50.94	53.65	55.2	53.69	54.19	53.16	53.27
Hispanic households	38.88	37.88	37.05	36.11	34.79	34.71	37.13	37.54	37.81	38.04	38.93	39.87	40.7	39.8	39.09	38.62	38.54	38.62	40.01	40.31	39.54	38.2	39.78	41.5	42.19	42.13	40.93	39.81	38.73	37.65	39.52	41.62	42.83	41.65	42.04	41.24	41.33
Asian households	23.83	23.22	22.71	22.14	21.33	21.28	22.76	23.01	23.18	23.32	23.86	24.44	24.95	24.4	23.96	23.67	23.62	23.67	24.52	24.71	24.24	23.41	24.39	25.44	25.86	25.83	25.09	24.4	23.74	23.08	24.07	25.35	26.08	25.37	25.61	25.12	25.17
AFFORDABLE LISTINGS SHARE7
All households	39.86	40.14	41.81	43.68	45.34	45.61	43.19	41.54	40.24	39.25	37.7	36.55	35.37	35.38	36.65	37.86	38.09	38.09	36.97	35.59	37.78	38.08	36.36	33.67	33.14	32.48	33.35	35.24	36.68	37.45	35.7	31.87	30.95	33.29	33.64	33.85	33.7
Homeowners	53.78	54.04	55.19	57.87	59.75	59.97	56.93	55.61	54.86	54.23	52.36	50.83	49.62	49.64	50.94	52.36	52.62	52.89	51.57	50.02	51.77	52.44	51.2	47.72	47.2	46.36	48.04	49.63	50.52	53.13	49.82	45.67	44.55	45.84	46.81	47.62	47.68
Renters	16.89	17.03	18.03	19.11	20.41	20.87	19.14	17.97	17.54	16.97	15.91	15.42	14.38	14.4	15.2	16.15	15.94	16.37	15.98	15.12	15.96	16.53	15.63	14.25	13.92	13.93	14.49	15.3	16.35	16.84	16.18	14.25	14.14	14.45	14.95	15.45	15.61
White households	44.37	44.75	46.09	48.22	49.94	50.59	47.45	46.45	45.7	44.19	42.94	41.52	40.03	40.03	41.64	42.86	42.87	43.26	41.63	40.37	42.46	43.1	41.63	38.54	38.05	37.1	38.06	40.03	40.87	42.11	40.5	36.39	35.11	37.37	37.71	38.44	38.51
Black households	18.52	18.68	19.62	21.86	22.6	23.08	20.89	19.63	18.98	18.52	17.65	16.59	15.99	16	16.67	17.9	17.67	17.61	17.56	16.38	17.68	18.27	16.63	15.39	15.13	14.65	15.7	16.49	17.11	18.31	17.14	15.94	14.7	15.96	16.1	16.34	16.31
Hispanic households	32.11	32.37	33.39	35.23	37.21	37.85	34.73	33.33	32.68	31.99	31.28	28.58	27.51	27.54	28.69	30.35	29.94	30.51	29.22	28.43	29.75	30.1	29.2	26.89	26.5	25.61	26.43	28.19	28.99	30.2	27.79	24.88	24.37	25.2	25.91	26.3	26.98
Asian households	62.47	62.94	64.1	66.04	67.49	68.21	65.84	64.98	64.21	63.67	61.52	59.89	59.08	59.09	59.94	61.45	62.01	62.28	60.92	60.02	61.05	61.65	60.03	57.94	57.28	57.02	57.88	59.7	60.47	61.58	59	55.88	54	55.9	56.63	56.95	58.07
YEARS TO SAVE FOR DOWN PAYMENT7
All households	18.67	18.26	18.04	17.81	17.35	17.24	18.28	18.4	18.51	18.47	18.51	18.75	18.98	18.56	18.37	18.27	17.95	17.8	18.83	18.83	19.07	18.83	19.07	19.32	19.52	19.27	18.83	18.57	18.13	17.84	18.34	18.34	18.59	18.72	19.1	19.1	19.35
Homeowners	15.01	14.69	14.5	14.32	13.95	13.86	14.73	14.82	14.92	14.88	14.92	15.11	15.3	14.96	14.8	14.72	14.46	14.34	15.2	15.2	15.4	15.2	15.4	15.59	15.76	15.55	15.2	14.99	14.64	14.4	14.79	14.79	15	15.1	15.41	15.41	15.61
Renters	28.49	27.88	27.53	27.18	26.49	26.31	27.89	28.07	28.25	28.18	28.25	28.62	28.97	28.33	28.04	27.88	27.38	27.17	28.7	28.7	29.08	28.7	29.08	29.45	29.75	29.37	28.7	28.31	27.64	27.19	28.02	28.02	28.41	28.6	29.19	29.19	29.58
White households	17.34	16.97	16.76	16.55	16.12	16.02	16.98	17.09	17.2	17.16	17.2	17.42	17.64	17.25	17.07	16.98	16.67	16.54	17.5	17.5	17.73	17.5	17.73	17.95	18.14	17.91	17.5	17.26	16.85	16.58	16.99	16.99	17.23	17.35	17.7	17.7	17.94
Black households	27.29	26.7	26.37	26.03	25.36	25.2	26.74	26.92	27.09	27.02	27.09	27.44	27.78	27.16	26.88	26.74	26.26	26.05	27.56	27.56	27.92	27.56	27.92	28.28	28.57	28.2	27.56	27.19	26.54	26.11	26.94	26.94	27.32	27.51	28.07	28.07	28.44
Hispanic households	21.07	20.62	20.36	20.11	19.59	19.46	20.66	20.79	20.92	20.87	20.92	21.19	21.45	20.98	20.76	20.65	20.28	20.12	21.28	21.28	21.56	21.28	21.56	21.84	22.07	21.78	21.28	21	20.5	20.16	20.9	20.9	21.19	21.34	21.77	21.77	22.06
Asian households	12.92	12.64	12.48	12.32	12.01	11.93	12.66	12.74	12.83	12.79	12.83	12.99	13.15	12.86	12.73	12.66	12.43	12.33	13.05	13.05	13.22	13.05	13.22	13.39	13.53	13.35	13.05	12.87	12.57	12.36	12.73	12.73	12.91	13	13.26	13.26	13.44

Latest reading

The latest reading is 100,546 USD, for Jun 2026. That is +2.6% from May 2026 and −0.6% from a year earlier. The series on this page is monthly and runs from Jan 2012 to Jun 2026. Source: Redfin Data Center.

Latest: 100,546 USD; Jun 2026
vs previous period: +2.6%; May 2026
vs a year earlier: −0.6%

About this data

US housing affordability and required income to buy a home by group. It covers monthly housing costs, down payment levels, and median household income across households since 2012 from Redfin. The table details principal, interest, taxes, and insurance.

Frequently asked questions

What does the United States required income to buy a home measure?: It measures the qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced home in the United States based on monthly housing payments, assuming standard down payments and a maximum housing cost share of income.
How often is this United States housing affordability data published and how far back does it go?: It is published monthly by Redfin and the series go back to 2012, updating with every new release.
What demographic and financial breakdowns are available in this table?: The table includes breakdowns by household groups such as homeowners, renters, and racial categories, alongside required income tiers by down payment percentage and monthly housing cost components.
How do mortgage rates affect this United States affordability metric?: Higher interest rates increase monthly mortgage payments for the same home price, raising the qualifying income threshold required to buy a home even when median house prices remain flat.