Homes in 97 percent of analyzed counties were less affordable than historic averages; Wage growth outpaced home prices in majority of counties analyzed
IRVINE, Calif., March 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM, the leading provider of property data, AI-powered analytics, and real estate intelligence solutions, today released its Q1 2026 U.S. Home Affordability Report showing that homes were less affordable than historical averages in 97 percent of counties with sufficient data to analyze for the first quarter of 2026.
At the beginning of the year, major monthly expenses for median-priced single-family homes and condos exceeded historic norms in 560 out of the 580 counties included in ATTOM's analysis. As bleak a picture as that may paint for prospective home buyers, it's actually a slight improvement over the previous quarter, when median-priced homes were less affordable than their historical averages in 98 percent (567) of the 580 counties, and over the first quarter of 2025 (564 out of 580 counties).
Since the first quarter of 2024, the national median home price has risen by 8 percent from $333,438 to $360,000. Meanwhile, average weekly wages have increased by 6.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest data, which runs through the third quarter of 2025.
Mortgage rates declined throughout 2025 and in February of this year the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 5.98 percent, its lowest mark since 2022. But rates rose in March, reaching 6.22% as of March 19, as market volatility and rising Treasury yields, amid geopolitical and inflation concerns, put upward pressure on borrowing costs.
"Over the last several years, wages haven't kept up with rising home prices in many markets," said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. "Mortgage rates dropped throughout last year, which offset some of that growing affordability gap, but shifts in the broader economic environment can still influence rates and home purchasing power."
ATTOM determines affordability for average wage earners by calculating the amount of income needed to meet major monthly home ownership expenses—including mortgage payments, mortgage insurance, property taxes and homeowner's insurance—on a median-priced single-family home and condo, assuming a 20 percent down payment and a 28 percent maximum "front-end" debt-to-income ratio. That required income is measured against annualized average weekly wage data from the BLS (see full methodology below).
In 69.1 percent (401) of the 580 counties in ATTOM's analysis, major monthly home expenses exceeded 28 percent of the typical resident's wages, meaning ownership was unaffordable by standard guidelines.
The most populous counties where monthly home expenses surpassed that 28 percent of income threshold were Los Angeles County, CA (home expenses required 66 percent of a typical resident's wages); Maricopa County, AZ (36.6 percent of wages); San Diego County, CA (65.7 percent of wages); Orange County, CA (88.1 percent of wages); and Miami-Dade County, FL (43.6 percent of wages).
The most populous counties where home ownership would be considered affordable were Cook County, IL (25.1 percent of wages); Harris County, TX (21.2 percent of wages); Dallas County, TX (26.5 percent of wages); Bexar County, TX (27.3 percent of wages); and Philadelphia County, PA (17.3 percent of wages).
Median home prices steady quarter-over-quarter, up year-over-year
The national median home price held steady between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 at $360,000.
Median home prices rose year-over-year in 61.7 percent (358) of the 580 counties in ATTOM's analysis. Counties were included in the report if they had populations of at least 100,000 and at least 50 single-family home sales in the first quarter of 2026 and sufficient data.
There were 45 counties included that had populations over 1 million. Of those, the largest increases in median home prices were in Honolulu County, HI (up 12 percent); Cuyahoga County, OH (up 5 percent); Tarrant County, TX (up 5 percent); Queens County, NY (up 4 percent); and Franklin County, OH (up 4 percent).
Among the most populous counties, the biggest decreases in annual median home prices were in Alameda County, CA (down 15 percent); Fairfax County, VA (down 6 percent); Contra Costa County, CA (down 6 percent); Sacramento County, CA (down 6 percent); and Bexar County, TX (down 5 percent).
View Q1 2026 U.S. Home Affordability Heat Map
Wages outpaced home growth in many counties
Measured nationally over the span of several years, median home prices have been growing at a faster rate than wages. But between the first quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, typical wages grew faster than home prices in 64 percent (374) of the 580 counties in ATTOM's analysis.
The most populous counties where wages outpaced home prices were Los Angeles County, CA; Cook County, IL; Harris County, TX; Maricopa County, AZ; and San Diego County, CA.
The most populous counties where home prices grew faster than wages were Queens County, NY; Tarrant County, TX; Bronx County, NY; Nassau County, NY; and Cuyahoga County, OH.
Buying a home remains seriously unaffordable in a quarter of counties
Major monthly expenses on a nationally median priced home would have consumed 30.3 percent of the typical worker's wages in the first quarter of 2026, down slightly from 30.6 percent in the prior quarter and 31.6 percent at the same time last year.
In 24.8 percent (144) of the 580 counties in ATTOM's analysis, monthly expenses on a median-priced home would have consumed more than 43 percent of typical wages, a benchmark considered seriously unaffordable.
California and New York counties top least affordable markets
Of the 25 counties where major monthly home expenses consumed the greatest share of residents' wages, 14 were in California, four were in New York, three were in New Jersey, and two were in Hawaii.
The counties where purchasing a home were least affordable were Kings County, NY (108.6 percent of typical wages); Santa Cruz County, CA (97.1 percent of typical wages); Marin County, CA (91.1 percent of typical wages); San Luis Obispo County, CA (89.7 percent of typical wages); and Orange County, CA (88.1 percent of typical wages).
Besides Kings County and Orange County, the counties with populations over 1 million where purchasing a home was least affordable were Queens County, NY (75.3 percent of wages); Nassau County, NY (72.1 percent of wages); and Los Angeles County, CA (66 percent of wages).
To afford a nationally medium priced home and keep major monthly expenses below the 28 percent of wages threshold, a buyer in the first quarter of 2026 would have had to earn $84,230 annually.
The counties with the highest wage requirement to stay below the 28 percent threshold were New York County, NY ($383,532); San Mateo County, CA ($350,392); Santa Clara County, CA ($342,800); San Francisco County, CA ($307,860); and Marin County, CA ($307,681).
The counties with the lowest affordability index in the first quarter of 2026—indicating that they were the least affordable compared to historical norms—were Lackawanna County, PA (affordability index of 59); Jackson County, MS (affordability index of 60); Gwinnett County, GA (affordability index of 63); Strafford County, NH (affordability index of 65); and Cass County, MO (affordability index of 65).
Conclusion
ATTOM's first quarter 2026 U.S. Home Affordability report shows median-priced single-family homes and condos were less affordable than historical averages in 97 percent of analyzed counties. Year-over-year, wage growth outpaced median home prices growth in a majority of counties analyzed but an increase in mortgage rates in March added additional pressure on home buyers.
Report Methodology
The ATTOM U.S. Home Affordability Index analyzed median home prices derived from publicly recorded sales deed data collected by ATTOM and average wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 580 U.S. counties with a combined population of 255 million during the first quarter of 2026. The affordability index is based on the percentage of average wages needed to pay for major expenses on a median-priced home with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and a 20 percent down payment. Those expenses include property taxes, home insurance, mortgage payments and mortgage insurance. Average 30-year fixed interest rates from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey were used to calculate monthly house payments.
The report determined affordability for average wage earners by calculating the amount of income needed for major home-ownership expenses on median-priced homes, assuming a loan of 80 percent of the purchase price and a 28 percent maximum "front-end" debt-to-income ratio. For example, affording the nationwide median home price of $365,185 in the fourth quarter of 2025 requires an annual wage of $86,374. That is based on a $73,037 down payment, a $292,148 loan and monthly expenses not exceeding the 28 percent barrier — meaning wage earners would not be spending more than 28 percent of their pay on mortgage payments, property taxes and insurance. That required income is more than the $77,038 average wage nationwide, based on the most recent average weekly wage data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making a median-priced home unaffordable for average workers.
About ATTOM
ATTOM delivers AI-driven property intelligence built on one of the nation's most trusted property data assets, covering 158 million U.S. properties—99% of the population. Our engineered, multi-sourced real estate data spans property tax, deeds, mortgages, foreclosure, environmental risk, property conditions, natural hazards, neighborhood insights, and geospatial boundaries, rigorously validated for advanced analytics. ATTOM supports analytics and AI-driven applications through flexible delivery options including APIs, bulk licensing, cloud delivery, market trend products, and the MCP Server for AI-powered, agentic access to engineered property data—enabling organizations to automate analysis and scale property intelligence across industries.
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