Housing affordability is a major concern, but that doesn’t mean home ownership is out of reach. From Chicago to Dallas, the salary required to afford a home might be less than you’d expect.
Here are the top 10 big cities with affordable homes.
10. Phoenix, Arizona
Time to save for a 10% down payment: 8.3 years
Salary needed: $60,256
Median income: $55,260
Monthly payments: $1,506
Median home value: $229,992
Phoenix may be at the bottom of this list, but remember it’s still a Top 10 — not to mention it averages the most annual days of sunshine in the U.S. and has over 200 golf courses. Did someone say “retirement”?
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9. Nashville, Tennessee
Time to save for a 10% down payment: 8.0 years
Salary needed: $62,309
Median income: $59,245
Monthly payments: $1,558
Median home value: $237,831
One of three state capitals on the list, Nashville is also the capital of country music.
8. Tampa, Florida
Time to save for a 10% down payment: 7.0 years
Salary needed: $43,978
Median income: $48,248
Monthly payments: $1,099
Median home value: $167,862
The Tampa-St. Petersburg area offers the subtropical beach life without the bustle — or prices —of South Florida.
7. Atlanta, Georgia
Time to save for a 10% down payment: 6.7 years
Salary needed: $52,770
Median income: $60,147
Monthly payments: $1,319
Median home value: $201,421
Atlanta plays host to some major American corporations and not surprisingly has one of the highest rates of job growth in the country.
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Time to save for a 10% down payment: 6.5 years
Salary needed: $56,655
Median income: $66,257
Monthly payments: $1,416
Median home value: $216,250
Full of history and some very happy football fans, the “city of brotherly love” has a lot to offer — including homes you can actually afford.
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5. Chicago, Illinois
Time to save for a 10% down payment: 6.9 years
Salary needed: $58,214
Median income: $64,430
Monthly payments: $1,455
Median home value: $222,198
The Windy City has a lot to offer, with decent home prices being no exception. Even in Chicago city proper, the median-priced home is right on par with the median income. That’s not true for many metros.
4. Minneapolis, Minnesota
Time to save for a 10% down payment: 7.0 years
Salary needed: $65,522
Median income: $71,597
Monthly payments: $1,638
Median home value: $250,095
The Minneapolis metro is really two cities for the price of half of one.
3. Dallas, Texas
Time to save for a 10% down payment: 6.3 years
Salary needed: $51,995
Median income: $63,380
Monthly payments: $1,300
Median home value: $198,460
Apparently not everything is bigger in Texas — not price tags. Despite being the fourth-most populous metro in the U.S., it ranks third on the list for affordable homes.
2. Kansas City, Missouri
Time to save for a 10% down payment: 5.2 years
Salary needed: $40,869
Median income: $60,098
Monthly payments: $1,022
Median home value: $155,995
Kansas City has grown up a lot in the past decade, but housing remains affordable even among high demand. That won’t last forever, but for now the metro ranks second on the list.
1. Detroit, Michigan
Time to save for a 10% down payment: 5.1 years
Salary needed: $35,909
Median income: $53,992
Monthly payments: $898
Median home value: $137,062
Detroit might be the least surprising metro on the list — it was among the most devastated by the recession and is still on its way back up. But the key here is that Detroit is on the rise, and still quite affordable.
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