10 States Where a Single Income Can Afford the Median Home
States where the full monthly housing cost (mortgage + property tax + insurance) on the median home stays under 28% of the state median household income. Sourced from Census ACS for median income and Zillow ZHVI for median home value. Reference 30-year fixed mortgage rate 6.85%.
Most affordable 10
Single-income-friendly states
| Rank | State | Median home | Monthly housing | Median income | Housing-to-income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia | $145,600 | $909 | $50,884 | 21.4% |
| 2 | Iowa | $208,700 | $1,303 | $65,573 | 23.8% |
| 3 | Kansas | $207,600 | $1,296 | $64,521 | 24.1% |
| 4 | Ohio | $210,500 | $1,314 | $61,938 | 25.5% |
| 5 | Oklahoma | $196,500 | $1,227 | $56,956 | 25.8% |
| 6 | Mississippi | $162,100 | $1,012 | $46,511 | 26.1% |
| 7 | Kentucky | $198,500 | $1,239 | $55,573 | 26.8% |
| 8 | Illinois | $262,500 | $1,639 | $72,205 | 27.2% |
| 9 | Missouri | $222,300 | $1,388 | $61,043 | 27.3% |
| 10 | Arkansas | $192,800 | $1,203 | $52,528 | 27.5% |
Calculation: 20% down, 30-year fixed at 6.85%, property tax + insurance at 1.2%/year escrow. Sources: Census ACS 5-year median household income, Zillow ZHVI median home value.
Hardest 5 for single income
Where one income can't reach the median home
| State | Median home | Monthly housing | Median income | Housing-to-income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | $978,200 | $6,106 | $84,857 | 86.3% |
| California | $785,300 | $4,902 | $84,907 | 69.3% |
| Oregon | $498,500 | $3,112 | $70,084 | 53.3% |
| Washington | $568,500 | $3,549 | $82,228 | 51.8% |
| Montana | $415,200 | $2,592 | $62,043 | 50.1% |
Frequently Asked
Single-income affordability, answered
What does 'single income can afford the median home' mean?
We define affordability as: monthly mortgage payment (on a 20% down 30-year fixed at 6.85%) plus property tax and insurance escrow (estimated at 1.2% of home value annually) coming to no more than 28% of median household income. The 28% threshold is the standard lender debt-to-income ratio for housing. States where this passes for the median income are candidates for single-earner households.
Which states pass the 28% DTI test on a single median income?
West Virginia, Mississippi, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri all land below the 28% threshold. The cheap-cost states with median household incomes of $50,000-$67,000 and median home prices below $230,000 dominate the list. Notably, several Midwest states also feature - their median home prices are modest but median incomes are decent.
Which states are out of reach for a single median income?
Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York all push the affordability ratio above 50% of median income, meaning a single earner at the median state income would be spending more than half of gross income on housing. In these states, dual-earner households are effectively required to reach the median home, or the household lives in a substantially cheaper metro within the state.
Why is West Virginia the easiest?
Median home value $145,600 (lowest in the country) combined with median household income of $50,884 produces the lowest housing-to-income ratio in the US. The trade-off is access: limited high-paying job markets, healthcare access challenges in rural areas, and an ageing population with limited growth. Cheap is not automatically good; cheap-with-limited-opportunity is the West Virginia story.
How does this compare to the 30% rent benchmark?
HUD defines 'cost-burdened' as housing exceeding 30% of income, severely cost-burdened as 50%+. The 28% figure used here is the lender DTI threshold; HUD's 30% is the policy threshold. The two are close in intent. By either measure, the bottom-5 states on this page (CA, HI, MA, NJ, NY) are severely cost-burdened at median.
What about dual-income households in the high-cost states?
With two median-income earners, California ($169,814 combined) puts a median home (mortgage + tax + insurance ~$5,300/month) at 37% of combined income. Still high, but reachable. Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York remain stretched even on dual income at the state median. This is why coastal-state housing markets are dominated by dual-high-earner households, not median households.