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 6.76%.
Most affordable 10
Single-income-friendly states
| Rank | State | Median home | Monthly housing | Median income | Housing-to-income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia | $145,600 | $902 | $50,884 | 21.3% |
| 2 | Iowa | $208,700 | $1,293 | $65,573 | 23.7% |
| 3 | Kansas | $207,600 | $1,286 | $64,521 | 23.9% |
| 4 | Ohio | $210,500 | $1,304 | $61,938 | 25.3% |
| 5 | Oklahoma | $196,500 | $1,217 | $56,956 | 25.6% |
| 6 | Mississippi | $162,100 | $1,004 | $46,511 | 25.9% |
| 7 | Kentucky | $198,500 | $1,230 | $55,573 | 26.5% |
| 8 | Illinois | $262,500 | $1,626 | $72,205 | 27.0% |
| 9 | Missouri | $222,300 | $1,377 | $61,043 | 27.1% |
| 10 | Arkansas | $192,800 | $1,194 | $52,528 | 27.3% |
Calculation: 20% down, 30-year fixed at 6.76%, 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 | $6,059 | $84,857 | 85.7% |
| California | $785,300 | $4,864 | $84,907 | 68.7% |
| Oregon | $498,500 | $3,088 | $70,084 | 52.9% |
| Washington | $568,500 | $3,521 | $82,228 | 51.4% |
| Montana | $415,200 | $2,572 | $62,043 | 49.7% |
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 6.76%) 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 ~$4,800/month) at 34% 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.