U.S. Home Prices Have Soared 551% Since 1980, Compared to Income Growth of Just 373%
The national home-price-to-income ratio has reached 5.08, nearly double the recommended 2.6 maximum, leaving no major U.S. city within an affordable range.
ST. LOUIS, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Since 1980, the median U.S. home price has grown 551%, while median household incomes have only risen 373%, according to a new report from Best Interest Financial and Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company.
The median U.S. home price of $414,900 is more than five times the median household income of $81,604, yielding a home-price-to-income ratio of 5.08. Experts generally recommend that ratio stay at or below 2.6, making today's market nearly twice as unaffordable as it should be.
In the five years following the onset of COVID-19, median home prices climbed roughly 31% from $321,500 in 2019 to $420,300 in 2024, while median household incomes grew by only about 22%, from $68,700 to $83,730. In other words, home prices outpaced Americans' incomes by nearly 1.5 times in just five years.
If the median household income had kept pace with home prices since 1980, it would have reached $115,225 in 2024, or $31,495 more than the actual level.
Additionally, if home prices had grown at the same rate as income since 2000, the median home would have cost $336,994 in 2024, $83,306 less than it actually did.
The home-price-to-income ratio increased from 3.65 in 1980 to its 2022 peak of 5.83. Although the ratio has eased slightly since then, it remains well above any level seen before 2020.
Unfortunately, none of America's 50 largest cities currently meets the ideal home-price-to-income ratio of 2.6 or lower.
Of the 50 most-populous metros, the most affordable are:
- Pittsburgh (3.07 home-price-to-income ratio)
- Cleveland (3.27)
- St. Louis (3.61)
- Detroit (3.62)
- Oklahoma City (3.63)
- Cincinnati (3.86)
- Dallas (3.95)
- Louisville (3.97)
- Atlanta (4.03)
- Minneapolis (4.03)
Meanwhile, four of the five least affordable cities are concentrated in California: San Jose (11.65), Los Angeles (9.75), San Francisco (9.62), and San Diego (9.11). Miami rounds out the bottom five with a ratio of 7.88.
Read the full report at: https://bestinterest.com/research/house-price-to-income-ratio/
About Best Interest Financial
At Best Interest Financial, borrowers come first, with personalized guidance and tailored mortgage options. Since 2024, hundreds of families have trusted Best Interest Financial to achieve their dream of homeownership. Now an affiliate of Clever Real Estate, a free agent-matching service that's saved consumers $210 million on Realtor fees since 2017, Best Interest shares a mission to connect people with the best solutions for every step of their real estate journey.
About Clever
Clever Real Estate's content reaches over 10 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 4,000+ customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached $15.5 billion in real estate sold, matched over 213,000 customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $230 million on commission fees. Clever's network spans over 13,000 agents across all 50 states.
CONTACT:
Alyssa Evans
Clever Real Estate
[email protected]
315-690-1518
SOURCE Best Interest Financial
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