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How Much House Middle-Class Families Can Afford in 50 Cities

April 08, 2025 — 07:00 am EDT

Written by Heather Taylor for GOBankingRates->

Recently, a Zillow dataset outlined how much house earners can afford on average across some of the nation’s most popular metros — along with the years it will take them to save for down payments.

GOBankingRates referred to this data to determine how much house middle-class families can afford. In high cost-of-living areas such as Miami, Los Angeles and New York, middle-class households will need to earn six-figure incomes to become homeowners.

Learn More: 5 Cities Where Homes Will Be a Total Steal in 2 Years

See Next: How Middle-Class Earners Are Quietly Becoming Millionaires — and How You Can, Too

To determine how much house a middle-class household can afford, GOBankingRates sourced Zillow Affordability Research Data. The affordable home value is defined as an estimate of the home price such that the total monthly payment on this home does not exceed 30% of the median household’s monthly income (after a 20% down payment).

The new homeowner income needed is defined as an estimate of the annual household income required to spend less than 30% of monthly income on the total monthly payment after newly purchasing the typical home with a 20% down payment.

San Jose is the economic, cultural and political center of Silicon Valley, and the largest city in Northern California.

Key Findings

Find out how much house middle-class families can afford in these 50 metros.

Find More: 20 Best Cities Where You Can Buy a House for Under $100K

San Jose California Saint Joseph Cathedral as viewed from the corner of Market and San Fernando.

1. San Jose, California

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University of California, Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz, UCSC

2. Santa Cruz, California

Maui, Hawaii, USA - March 15, 2012: People paddle outrigger canoes off the beach at sunrise.

3. Kahului, Hawaii

San Francisco County, Cable Car, California Street, Overhead Cable Car.

4. San Francisco

Nice emblems at Lompoc, California, the Point Conception Lighthouse nad Indian Head Rock at the coast.

5. Santa Maria, California

Morning commute into Los Angeles at sunrise stock photo

6. Los Angeles

Califonia Polytechnic State University sign

7. San Luis Obispo, California

Aerial view of the coastal community of La Jolla, California approximately 10 miles north of downtown San Diego shot via helicopter from an altitude of about 300 feet over the Pacific Ocean.

8. San Diego

Salinas, California, United States- March 12,2017: Late afternoon Main Street downtown scene.

9. Salinas, California

Napa, California, CA - November 12, 2016: St.

10. Napa, California

Houses on the waterfront in Oxnard, California, USA on a sunny day.

11. Oxnard, California

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The beautiful coastline Honolulu Hawaii shot from an altitude of about 500 feet during a helicopter photo flight over the Pacific Ocean.

12. Honolulu

Wine grapes in Sonoma County, California.

13. Santa Rosa, California

Ocean City, NJ, USA - September 1, 2013: Ocean City Boardwalk in New Jersey.

14. Ocean City, New Jersey

Drone shot of Cape Cod Bay at sunset on a sunny day in Fall, close to the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts

15. Barnstable Town, Massachusetts

16. Boulder, Colorado

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View of the historic buildings along 6th Avenue towards downtown Manhattan in New York City NYC.

17. New York City

Scenic downtown Flagstaff as seen from the air.

18. Flagstaff, Arizona

Aerial View of Main Street in downtown Bozeman Montana.

19. Bozeman, Montana

Bellingham is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the US state of Washington.

20. Bellingham, Washington

Pedestrians cross street in downtown Bend Oregon USA on a sunny day.

21. Bend, Oregon

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Ewam Garden of 1,000 Buddhas North of Missoula, Montana.

22. Missoula, Montana

Boston Massachusetts Apartments Rent Prices Real Estate iStock

23. Boston

Corvallis, Oregon - 11/1/2011: The womens building on a foggy autumn morning at Oregon State University -with blurred people to show motion - Image.

24. Corvallis, Oregon

25. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

The skyline of Seattle, Washington, USA with the Space Needle observation tower on a sunny day.

26. Seattle

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Downtown Riverside skyline aerial view with Blue Mountain (center), Box Springs Mountain (right), and the partially snowcapped San Bernardino Mountains in the far distance.

27. Riverside, California

Aerial panorama of Miami, Florida at dusk.

28. Miami

Condos and marina in Naples, Florida, USA on a sunny day.

29. Naples, Florida

Bridgeport is a historic seaport city in the U.

30. Bridgeport, Connecticut

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA downtown cityscape and street at twilight.

31. Santa Fe, New Mexico

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November sunrise over the Wenatchee Valley looking north from Saddle Rock.

32. Wenatchee, Washington

Sacramento, California, USA - September 19, 2017: These two women are walking downtown Sacramento on J Street past historic bank and view with a variety of with many different styles, this downtown area is now being know as DOCO for Downtown Commons many new shops and a hotel and Sports arena and unique older structures in the area on this September day the weather was comfortable.

33. Sacramento, California

Merced, California, USA - April 17, 2019: Daytime view of the Merced Theatre along W.

34. Merced, California

Reno, USA - May 31, 2016: Reno, known as The Biggest Little City in the World, is famous for it's casinos, and is the birthplace of the gaming corporation Harrah's Entertainment.

35. Reno, Nevada

36. Mount Vernon, Washington

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Stockton, California, USA - July 15, 2021: Sunlight shines on the historic city center.

37. Stockton, California

Hilton Head, South Carolina, USA - September 22, 2014: People enjoy a late afternoon at Coligny Beach on Hilton Head Island.

38. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Sunset lights up the sky behind the Carquinez bridge in the Bay area of California.

39. Vallejo, California

40. Saint George, Utah

Fort Collins, Colorado, USA - February 2, 2013: People walking in the Old Town pedestrian zone of Fort Collins, Colorado at night.

41. Fort Collins, Colorado

Also See: What an Average Home Cost in the Year You Were Born

Sunset on the boardwalk on the waterfront at The Villages, Florida.

42. The Villages, Florida

43. Portland, Oregon

Downtown Providence, Rhode Island at night.

44. Providence, Rhode Island

45. Port Saint Lucie, Florida

Eugene, Oregon, USA downtown cityscape at dusk.

46. Eugene, Oregon

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47. Madera, California

48. Chico, California

49. Grand Junction, Colorado

Beautiful Denver skyscraper at night, Denver, Colorado, USA.

50. Denver

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates used Zillow Affordability Research Data to find out how much house a middle-class household can afford. This assumes a 20% down payment and not spending more than 30% of median household income on home costs. The affordable home price, new homeowner income needed, years to save and new homeowner affordability were all sourced from the Zillow Research Data on Affordability. The new homeowner affordability measures the share of household income the median household would spend on a newly purchased home, including mortgage, insurance, property tax and maintenance costs. Spending more than 30% of household income on housing is considered unaffordable. All data was collected on and is up to date as of March 21, 2025.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much House Middle-Class Families Can Afford in 50 Cities

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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