Least affordable: New York
This cute Cape in suburban New Jersey costs $360,000, unusually reasonable for the New York market.
Median home price: $426,000
Median family income: $65,600
Affordability score: 25.5%
Everything is more expensive in the New York metropolitan. Housing is no exception.
Wages are only slightly above the national median, making the affordability equation the most lopsided in the nation. Only about a quarter of the homes sold were affordable to families earning the median wage.
Economic recovery will only further damage affordability. New York's biggest problem is no where to put any new buildings. That drives up the cost of construction lots and keeps housing prices high.
NEXT: Runner-up: San Francisco
Last updated February 23 2011: 3:17 PM ET
