Rising Salaries Required to Buy Average U.S. Home

WHO:

Fox Business - Redfin, a Seattle-based real estate site, is the source of the report on housing affordability.

Fast Company - Yingqi Xu, a senior economist with Redfin, provided insights on housing affordability.

WHAT:

Fox Business - The income needed to afford a typical U.S. home is $109,796 as of June, a decrease of 0.5% from the all-time high of $110,382 reached last year.

Fast Company - The income required to afford a typical home is more than $22,000 higher than the typical U.S. household income of $87,599.

Fast Company - The income needed to afford a typical starter home is $70,693, down 1.5% from a year ago.

Fox Business - The share of affordable listings on the housing market rose from 31% last year to 34% in June.

WHERE:

Fox Business - The report analyzed 46 metro areas across the U.S., including Seattle, San Jose, and Portland.

Fast Company - The three metro areas where the typical household earns more than what's required to afford a median-priced home are St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh.

WHEN:

Fox Business - The income needed to afford a home has been declining since October 2025.

Fast Company - The report indicates that the income needed to afford a typical home is based on data from June.

WHY:

Fox Business - The narrowing gap between income needed and typical household income is attributed to income growth outpacing the growth in housing costs in recent years.

Fast Company - The report notes that homeownership remains out of reach for many Americans because they would need to devote significantly more than 30% of their income to housing costs.

HOW:

Fast Company - Redfin defines a home as affordable if a buyer's mortgage does not consume more than 30% of their income on monthly housing payments.

(UPDATED August 7, 2026 01:02 UTC)

A new report from Redfin reveals that the income needed to afford a typical U.S. home is $109,796 as of June, marking a slight decrease from last year's all-time high. While the share of affordable listings has increased from 31% to 34%, many Americans still find homeownership out of reach, as they would need to spend over 30% of their income on housing costs. The report analyzed 46 metro areas, highlighting that St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh are the only places where typical households earn enough to afford a median-priced home.