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Megan Willett-Wei
2014-02-18T17:27:00Z
The cost of living in America varies wildly.
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In Cleveland, people need a base salary of at least $19,435 a year to afford the average home, while San Franciscans must make upward of $115,000 annually.
HSH.com, an online mortgage and consumer loan information website, figured out how much a person would have to earn to afford a home in 25 of the country's largest metropolitan areas.
To do so, HSH looked at the National Association of Realtors' fourth-quarter data for median home prices and HSH.com's fourth-quarter average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages to determine how much money homebuyers would need to earn in order to afford only the principal and interest payment on a median-priced home in their market. (They did not account forproperty taxes, insurance, and other expenses —read their methodology here.)
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CLEVELAND: You'd have to earn at least $19,435 to buy an average home.
Average home price: $112,800
Monthly mortgage payment: $453.49
Minimum annualsalary: $19,435.17
Source: HSH.com. See their full methodology here
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CINCINNATI: You'd have to earn at least $22,227 to buy an average home.
Average home price: $128,700
Monthly mortgage payment:$518.63
Minimum annualsalary:$22,226.95
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ST. LOUIS: You'd have to earn at least $22,398 to buy an average home.
Average home price: $130,300
Monthly mortgage payment: $522.61
Minimum annualsalary: $22,397.54
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ATLANTA: You'd have to earn at least $24,391 to buy an average home.
Average home price: $142,400
Monthly mortgage payment: $569.12
Minimum annualsalary:$24,390.94
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TAMPA: You'd have to earn at least $24,651 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$142,400
Monthly mortgage payment: $575.19
Minimum annualsalary: $24,650.88
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ORLANDO: You'd have to earn at least $28,298 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$165,800
Monthly mortgage payment: $660.30
Minimum annualsalary: $28,298.47
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SAN ANTONIO: You'd have to earn at least $29,305 to buy an average home.
Average home price: $171,700
Monthly mortgage payment:$683.79
Minimum annualsalary:$29,305.47
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DALLAS: You'd have to earn at least $29,751 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$173,900
Monthly mortgage payment:$694.20
Minimum annualsalary:$29,751.24
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HOUSTON: You'd have to earn at least $31,299 to buy an average home.
Average home price: $182,300
Monthly mortgage payment:$730.31
Minimum annualsalary: $31,298.99
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CHICAGO: You'd have to earn at least $32,389 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$187,100
Monthly mortgage payment:$755.74
Minimum annualsalary:$32,388.90
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PHOENIX: You'd have to earn at least $32,812 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$192,700
Monthly mortgage payment:$765.61
Minimum annualsalary: $32,811.94
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MINNEAPOLIS: You'd have to earn at least $33,800 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$197,100
Monthly mortgage payment: $788.67
Minimum annualsalary: $33,800.09
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PHILADELPHIA: You'd have to earn at least $36,836 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$214,300
Monthly mortgage payment:$859.52
Minimum annualsalary:$36,836.47
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BALTIMORE: You'd have to earn at least $41,155 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$241,700
Monthly mortgage payment:$960.29
Minimum annualsalary:$41,155.40
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SACRAMENTO: You'd have to earn at least $42,832 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$250,360
Monthly mortgage payment:$999.42
Minimum annualsalary:$42,832.20
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MIAMI: You'd have to earn at least $43,918 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$254,900
Monthly mortgage payment:$1,024.77
Minimum annualsalary:$43,918.66
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PORTLAND (OR): You'd have to earn at least $45,872 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$267,500
Monthly mortgage payment:$1,070.36
Minimum annualsalary: $45,872.78
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DENVER: You'd have to earn at least $48,123 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$279,300
Monthly mortgage payment:$1,122.86
Minimum annualsalary:$48,122.72
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SEATTLE: You'd have to earn at least $59,130 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$344,400
Monthly mortgage payment:$1,379.70
Minimum annualsalary:$59,129.86
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WASHINGTON, D.C.: You'd have to earn at least $62,810 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$368,000
Monthly mortgage payment:$1,465.56
Minimum annualsalary:$62,809.63
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BOSTON: You'd have to earn at least $63,673 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$371,300
Monthly mortgage payment:$1,485.71
Minimumannual salary: $63,673.13
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NEW YORK CITY: You'd have to earn at least $66,167 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$386,300
Monthly mortgage payment:$1,543.90
Minimum annualsalary:$66,167.27
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LOS ANGELES: You'd have to earn at least $72,127 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$423,900
Monthly mortgage payment:$1,682.96
Minimum annualsalary:$72,126.90
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SAN DIEGO: You'd have to earn at least $81,570 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$476,790
Monthly mortgage payment:$1,903.31
Minimum annualsalary:$81,570.40
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SAN FRANCISCO :You'd have to earn at least $115,510 to buy an average home.
Average home price:$682,410
Monthly mortgage payment:$2,695.23
Minimum annualsalary: $115,510.06
You'd have to earn a lot more to live here.
The Most Expensive Home You Can Buy In Every State »
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