Market data · Updated every Friday
What your paycheck buys this week
At this week’s 7.32% 30-year fixed mortgage rate (U.S. average) Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey · week of Oct 22, 2026 Weekly release · FRED MORTGAGE30US ↗ average 30-year rate, a median U.S. household earning $87,460 Median household income (U.S., current dollars) U.S. Census Bureau · 2025 Annual release · FRED MEHOINUSA646N ↗ a year can afford a home of about $276,000. The median listing is $419,250 Median list price (U.S.) Realtor.com · September 2026 Monthly release · FRED MEDLISPRIUS ↗ , which would take 42.5% of that household’s gross income.
Every state, ranked
Ranked by the affordability index: the price a median household can afford divided by the median listing. Tap a state for its own page and a shareable card.
| # | State | Can afford | Median listing | Index | Share of income | vs. a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nebraska | $318,000 | $335,000 | 95 | 29.5% | +$19,594 |
| 2 | Ohio | $269,000 | $284,000 | 95 | 29.6% | −$6,596 |
| 3 | Kansas | $270,000 | $296,000 | 91 | 30.7% | −$30,350 |
| 4 | Iowa | $259,000 | $285,000 | 91 | 30.9% | −$34,646 |
| 5 | Illinois | $294,000 | $325,000 | 91 | 30.9% | +$5,730 |
| 6 | Missouri | $267,000 | $300,000 | 89 | 31.4% | −$2,110 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | $271,000 | $309,000 | 88 | 31.9% | −$5,612 |
| 8 | Maryland | $367,000 | $425,000 | 86 | 32.4% | −$12,640 |
| 9 | Michigan | $242,000 | $300,000 | 81 | 34.6% | −$31,568 |
| 10 | Indiana | $241,000 | $299,000 | 80 | 34.8% | −$24,352 |
| 11 | Oklahoma | $238,000 | $297,000 | 80 | 34.9% | +$12,595 |
| 12 | Minnesota | $300,000 | $380,000 | 79 | 35.4% | −$18,883 |
| 13 | Kentucky | $233,000 | $308,000 | 76 | 37% | +$9,119 |
| 14 | Texas | $269,000 | $356,000 | 76 | 37.1% | −$13,900 |
| 15 | West Virginia | $195,000 | $260,000 | 75 | 37.3% | −$23,212 |
| 16 | Alaska | $324,000 | $435,000 | 74 | 37.6% | +$11,554 |
| 17 | North Dakota | $269,000 | $371,000 | 72 | 38.7% | −$33,221 |
| 18 | South Carolina | $260,000 | $360,000 | 72 | 38.8% | −$4,376 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | $278,000 | $390,000 | 71 | 39.3% | −$7,544 |
| 20 | Louisiana | $192,000 | $270,000 | 71 | 39.5% | −$18,067 |
| 21 | South Dakota | $260,000 | $375,000 | 69 | 40.3% | −$13,734 |
| 22 | Virginia | $316,000 | $456,000 | 69 | 40.4% | −$23,200 |
| 23 | Arkansas | $215,000 | $319,000 | 67 | 41.5% | −$9,401 |
| 24 | Maine | $300,000 | $450,000 | 67 | 41.9% | −$13,875 |
| 25 | Alabama | $216,000 | $325,000 | 67 | 42.1% | −$9,338 |
| 26 | Georgia | $259,000 | $390,000 | 67 | 42.1% | −$22,898 |
| 27 | Delaware | $315,000 | $485,000 | 65 | 43.1% | +$17,693 |
| 28 | North Carolina | $253,000 | $400,000 | 63 | 44.2% | +$21,058 |
| 29 | New Jersey | $352,000 | $560,000 | 63 | 44.5% | −$8,302 |
| 30 | Mississippi | $183,000 | $292,000 | 63 | 44.8% | −$10,669 |
| 31 | Connecticut | $320,000 | $523,000 | 61 | 45.7% | −$19,684 |
| 32 | Vermont | $301,000 | $499,000 | 60 | 46.5% | +$7,278 |
| 33 | Florida | $246,000 | $410,000 | 60 | 46.7% | −$15,522 |
| 34 | New Hampshire | $354,000 | $590,000 | 60 | 46.7% | −$30,070 |
| 35 | Arizona | $273,000 | $460,000 | 59 | 47.1% | −$19,800 |
| 36 | Nevada | $281,000 | $480,000 | 59 | 47.9% | +$2,539 |
| 37 | Colorado | $324,000 | $564,000 | 57 | 48.8% | −$43,003 |
| 38 | Utah | $325,000 | $579,000 | 56 | 49.9% | −$34,443 |
| 39 | Washington | $355,000 | $639,000 | 56 | 50.4% | +$21,965 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $238,000 | $429,000 | 55 | 50.6% | −$24,647 |
| 41 | Rhode Island | $306,000 | $570,000 | 54 | 52.2% | −$11,610 |
| 42 | New Mexico | $213,000 | $399,000 | 53 | 52.4% | −$4,257 |
| 43 | Oregon | $293,000 | $550,000 | 53 | 52.6% | −$18,252 |
| 44 | Massachusetts | $374,000 | $714,000 | 52 | 53.5% | −$16,119 |
| 45 | Wyoming | $256,000 | $497,000 | 52 | 54.3% | −$16,407 |
| 46 | Idaho | $277,000 | $593,000 | 47 | 59.9% | −$5,019 |
| 47 | Hawaii | $332,000 | $732,000 | 45 | 61.8% | −$9,775 |
| 48 | New York | $274,000 | $605,000 | 45 | 61.7% | −$26,161 |
| 49 | California | $318,000 | $725,000 | 44 | 63.8% | −$31,691 |
| 50 | Montana | $274,000 | $635,000 | 43 | 64.9% | −$9,648 |
100+ within reach · 80–99 a stretch · under 80 out of reach for the median household
How the index works
- Budget: 28% of gross monthly income goes to housing, the conventional front-end limit lenders use.
- Loan: 10% down, 30-year fixed at this week’s Freddie Mac average.
- Taxes and insurance: 1.45% of the price per year, the same allowance our affordability calculator uses.
- Index: affordable price ÷ median list price × 100. At 100 the median household can just afford the median listing.
The week-over-week change comes almost entirely from mortgage rates, because list prices update monthly and income annually. Household income is the Census Bureau’s most recent annual figure (2025 for the U.S.), so it lags today’s paychecks by a year or more; the year-ago comparison uses the figure that was current then. Median list prices are asking prices, not sale prices. This is a like-for-like gauge of how affordability is moving, not a mortgage quote: your own budget depends on your debts, savings, credit, and local taxes. Run your own numbers.
Sources
| Input | Publisher | Updates | FRED series |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate | Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey | Weekly (Thursdays) | MORTGAGE30US |
| Median list price | Realtor.com | Monthly | MEDLISPRIUS and MEDLISPRI + state code |
| Median household income | U.S. Census Bureau | Annual (each September) | MEHOINUSA646N and MEHOINUS + state code + A646N |
This page is rebuilt automatically from FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) every Friday after Freddie Mac’s Thursday rate release, and a week is only published after every figure passes range checks. PreferredProperties.com is an independent media site, not a lender or brokerage. See our editorial guidelines and corrections log.