The most affordable U.S. housing markets

The Midwest has the most affordable housing. California has the least.

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The housing slump has its benefits; affordability improved in many metro areas across the nation during the first three months of this year.

According to a report from Wells Fargo Bank and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), about 44 percent of all homes sold in the United States during the first three months of the year were affordable to families earning the median household income for the area they lived in.

los_angeles_ca.03.jpg
Los Angeles: The nation's least affordable housing market.

NAHB President Brian Catalde, said, "This is up from 41.6 percent of homes sold in the final quarter of 2006, and is likely the result of lower house prices as well as the very favorable financing conditions that existed at the beginning of this year."

The Indianapolis area, where the median home cost $116,000, was the most affordable major U.S. market for the period, but joining it at number one this time was the Youngstown, Ohio metro area ($78,000). In both places, the index judged affordable 89.0 percent of the homes sold.

A smaller market area, Kokomo, Indiana ($93,000), led all cities; 93.5 percent of all homes sold there could be bought by median income households. Also highly affordable were Lansing, Michigan ($100,000, 91.1 percent) and Lima, Ohio ($78,000, 90.4 percent).

The top 13 markets were all located in the Midwest region. Cumberland, Maryland ($81,000, 86.8 percent), representing the South, was the highest ranked city in the rest of the United States. Elmira, New York ($69,000, 86.7 percent) was close behind. The most affordable western city was Pueblo, Colorado ($115,000, 76.3 percent).

California dominated the list of most unaffordable cities with just 3.0 percent of Los Angeles residents able to buy the median home, priced at $525,000. In nearby Santa Ana ($610,000, 4.4 percent) and Salinas ($569,000, 4.6 percent), conditions weren't much better.

The New York metro are, where the median home cost $500,000, was the least affordable place outside California. It recorded an affordability index score of 6.0 percent. Miami ($288,000, 10.0 percent) trailed all other southern cities and Chicago ($248,000, 46.5 percent) brought up the rear in the Midwest.

In addition to earnings and home prices, Wells Fargo and NAHB factor in interest rates in compiling their index, which stayed low through the year's first three months, ranging from an average of 6.14 percent for a 30-year fixed to 6.30, according to Freddie Mac figures.

If the housing slump continues and deepens, which many experts expect, and interest rates stay under 7 percent, housing affordability may improve through the balance of the year. Top of page

Housing Opportunity Index: 1st Quarter 2007 by Affordability Rank
Metro Area HOI 1st Qtr 2007
Share of Homes
Affordable for Median Income
2007 Median Family Income 1st Qtr 2007
Median Sales Price
1st Qtr 2007
Affordability Rank
National
1st Qtr 2007
Affordability Rank
Regional
Kokomo, IN 93.5 $59,700.00 $93,000.00 1 1
Lansing-East Lansing, MI 91.1 $64,000.00 $100,000.00 2 2
Lima, OH 90.4 $51,400.00 $78,000.00 3 3
Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI 89.6 $52,300.00 $85,000.00 4 4
Bay City, MI 89.5 $54,400.00 $83,000.00 5 5
Mansfield, OH 89.1 $52,100.00 $75,000.00 6 6
Indianapolis-Carmel, IN 89.0 $63,800.00 $116,000.00 7 7
Springfield, OH 89.0 $52,500.00 $79,000.00 7 7
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 89.0 $51,400.00 $78,000.00 7 7
Dayton, OH 87.9 $58,700.00 $93,000.00 10 10
Flint, MI 87.9 $57,200.00 $94,000.00 10 10
Battle Creek, MI 87.5 $52,800.00 $79,000.00 12 12
Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI ^^^ 87.4 $53,800.00 $94,000.00 13 13
Cumberland, MD-WV 86.8 $46,600.00 $81,000.00 14 1
Monroe, MI 86.8 $68,700.00 $151,000.00 14 14
Elmira, NY 86.7 $51,700.00 $69,000.00 16 1
Canton-Massillon, OH 86.2 $53,000.00 $88,000.00 17 15
Utica-Rome, NY 85.6 $52,400.00 $80,000.00 18 2
Elkhart-Goshen, IN 84.9 $56,500.00 $126,000.00 19 16
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 84.5 $59,100.00 $120,000.00 20 17
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 84.1 $59,300.00 $90,000.00 21 3
Syracuse, NY 83.9 $58,700.00 $90,000.00 22 4
San Angelo, TX 83.6 $49,100.00 $85,000.00 23 2
Binghamton, NY 83.1 $52,800.00 $80,000.00 24 5
Toledo, OH 82.8 $57,600.00 $100,000.00 25 18
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 82.6 $57,200.00 $93,000.00 26 19
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH 82.4 $60,700.00 $106,000.00 27 20
Erie, PA 82.4 $53,900.00 $90,000.00 27 6
Sherman-Denison, TX 82.0 $52,700.00 $99,000.00 29 3
Rochester, NY 81.4 $62,000.00 $105,000.00 30 7
Springfield, IL 80.9 $63,700.00 $110,000.00 31 21
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI ^^^ 80.9 $76,400.00 $155,000.00 31 21
Peoria, IL 80.6 $61,800.00 $107,000.00 33 23
Rockford, IL 79.9 $58,600.00 $113,000.00 34 24
Akron, OH 79.8 $60,300.00 $108,000.00 35 25
Elizabethtown, KY 78.2 $50,600.00 $126,000.00 36 4
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN 78.1 $63,600.00 $130,000.00 37 26
Chattanooga, TN-GA 77.4 $53,400.00 $124,000.00 38 5
Oklahoma City, OK 77.3 $53,600.00 $115,000.00 39 6
Sandusky, OH 77.3 $55,400.00 $115,000.00 39 27
St. Louis, MO-IL 77.1 $63,300.00 $128,000.00 41 28
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 77.0 $65,600.00 $137,000.00 42 8
Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN 76.3 $57,500.00 $126,000.00 43 7
Pueblo, CO 76.3 $48,000.00 $115,000.00 43 1
Birmingham-Hoover, AL 75.9 $55,500.00 $119,000.00 45 8
Wichita Falls, TX 75.9 $49,200.00 $96,000.00 45 8
Columbus, OH 75.8 $64,200.00 $134,000.00 47 29
Duluth, MN-WI 75.8 $55,500.00 $120,000.00 47 29
Pittsburgh, PA 75.6 $57,900.00 $113,000.00 49 9
Champaign-Urbana, IL 75.4 $60,600.00 $127,000.00 50 31
Reading, PA 74.8 $63,600.00 $136,000.00 51 10
Winston-Salem, NC 74.8 $56,100.00 $132,000.00 51 10
Knoxville, TN 74.6 $54,800.00 $132,000.00 53 11
Columbia, SC 74.3 $58,200.00 $138,000.00 54 12
Fayetteville, NC 73.5 $47,500.00 $114,000.00 55 13
Wichita, KS 73.0 $56,600.00 $129,000.00 56 32
Tulsa, OK 72.3 $52,500.00 $122,000.00 57 14
Lancaster, PA 71.5 $64,000.00 $163,000.00 58 11
Ann Arbor, MI 71.2 $78,300.00 $190,000.00 59 33
Greensboro-High Point, NC 71.1 $53,600.00 $139,000.00 60 15
Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC 70.3 $52,900.00 $144,000.00 61 16
Glens Falls, NY 70.2 $55,700.00 $129,000.00 62 12
Waco, TX 70.1 $50,400.00 $114,000.00 63 17
Memphis, TN-MS-AR 69.6 $53,200.00 $130,000.00 64 18
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 69.3 $67,100.00 $176,000.00 65 19
Ithaca, NY 68.9 $65,400.00 $138,000.00 66 13
Colorado Springs, CO 68.5 $65,500.00 $192,000.00 67 2
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 67.6 $66,300.00 $159,000.00 68 14
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 67.2 $65,600.00 $161,000.00 69 34
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX ^^^ 66.6 $60,500.00 $151,000.00 70 20
Tallahassee, FL 66.4 $58,200.00 $159,000.00 71 21
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 66.3 $50,200.00 $117,000.00 72 22
Pittsfield, MA 66.3 $62,800.00 $164,000.00 72 15
Salisbury, MD 65.6 $58,500.00 $171,000.00 74 23
Victoria, TX 65.6 $48,800.00 $119,000.00 74 23
Denver-Aurora, CO 64.5 $71,400.00 $212,000.00 76 3
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 64.5 $52,500.00 $148,000.00 76 25
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC 63.8 $60,200.00 $168,000.00 78 26
Amarillo, TX 63.2 $49,400.00 $119,000.00 79 27
Greeley, CO 63.2 $59,800.00 $181,000.00 79 4
Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ ^^^ 63.1 $73,900.00 $226,000.00 81 16
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 62.9 $77,600.00 $230,000.00 82 35
Springfield, MA 62.6 $61,800.00 $178,000.00 83 17
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 61.8 $80,300.00 $225,000.00 84 18
Tyler, TX 61.7 $50,900.00 $142,000.00 85 28
Durham, NC 61.6 $60,100.00 $175,000.00 86 29
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 61.5 $68,200.00 $215,000.00 87 5
Raleigh-Cary, NC 61.5 $69,800.00 $207,000.00 87 30
Spokane, WA 61.2 $57,600.00 $168,000.00 89 6
Gainesville, GA 60.3 $56,500.00 $169,000.00 90 31
Pocatello, ID 59.7 $49,700.00 $153,000.00 91 7
Roanoke, VA 58.2 $56,300.00 $184,000.00 92 32
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX ^^^ 57.4 $63,200.00 $178,000.00 93 33
Jacksonville, FL 57.3 $59,700.00 $184,000.00 94 34
Trenton-Ewing, NJ 57.3 $84,900.00 $229,000.00 94 19
Great Falls, MT 57.0 $50,200.00 $151,000.00 96 8
Austin-Round Rock, TX 56.8 $69,300.00 $200,000.00 97 35
Wheeling, WV-OH 56.8 $47,100.00 $135,000.00 97 35
Richmond, VA 56.5 $68,700.00 $223,000.00 99 37
Camden, NJ ^^^ 55.9 $76,900.00 $212,000.00 100 20
Madison, WI 55.2 $73,700.00 $218,000.00 101 36
New Haven-Milford, CT 55.2 $72,600.00 $219,000.00 101 21
Worcester, MA 54.7 $72,800.00 $235,000.00 103 22
Ogden-Clearfield, UT 53.9 $62,600.00 $218,000.00 104 9
Boulder, CO 53.7 $82,500.00 $288,000.00 105 10
Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI ^^^ 53.5 $80,900.00 $248,000.00 106 37
Gainesville, FL 53.2 $54,200.00 $172,000.00 107 38
Norwich-New London, CT 53.2 $74,600.00 $240,000.00 107 23
Burlington-South Burlington, VT 52.7 $70,600.00 $218,000.00 109 24
Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ 52.6 $55,800.00 $155,000.00 110 25
Philadelphia, PA ^^^ 52.5 $69,200.00 $220,000.00 111 26
Baltimore-Towson, MD 51.7 $75,800.00 $252,000.00 112 39
College Station-Bryan, TX 51.7 $51,000.00 $153,000.00 112 39
San Antonio, TX 50.9 $53,700.00 $160,000.00 114 41
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 50.8 $57,300.00 $170,000.00 115 42
Rockingham County-Strafford County, NH ^^^ 50.7 $75,700.00 $246,000.00 116 27
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 49.6 $65,800.00 $213,000.00 117 28
Manchester-Nashua, NH 49.5 $77,300.00 $235,000.00 118 29
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 49.5 $64,100.00 $223,000.00 118 43
Dover, DE 48.6 $58,700.00 $215,000.00 120 44
Corvallis, OR 48.5 $67,400.00 $240,000.00 121 11
Fort Walton Beach, FL 48.3 $62,600.00 $225,000.00 122 45
Midland, TX 47.8 $54,800.00 $164,000.00 123 46
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL ^^^ 46.5 $69,700.00 $248,000.00 124 38
Corpus Christi, TX 46.0 $45,800.00 $143,000.00 125 47
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 46.0 $55,600.00 $197,000.00 125 47
Charleston-North Charleston, SC 45.5 $55,400.00 $210,000.00 127 49
Albuquerque, NM MSA 45.4 $55,900.00 $210,000.00 128 12
Asheville, NC 44.8 $50,800.00 $199,000.00 129 50
Fairbanks, AK 44.1 $69,700.00 $233,000.00 130 13
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 43.1 $57,900.00 $220,000.00 131 51
Yuma, AZ 42.8 $40,700.00 $160,000.00 132 14
Ocala, FL 42.1 $42,700.00 $165,000.00 133 52
Salem, OR 42.1 $54,200.00 $200,000.00 133 15
Lakeland, FL 41.4 $46,900.00 $180,000.00 135 53
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 41.4 $53,900.00 $200,000.00 135 53
Peabody, MA ^^^ 40.5 $77,200.00 $300,000.00 137 30
Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick,MD ^^^ 40.2 $101,100.00 $400,000.00 138 55
Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA ^^^ 38.5 $88,900.00 $360,000.00 139 31
Anchorage, AK 38.0 $74,800.00 $277,000.00 140 16
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 38.0 $49,900.00 $195,000.00 140 56
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ^^^ 37.7 $92,600.00 $370,000.00 142 57
Panama City-Lynn Haven, FL 36.5 $51,300.00 $221,000.00 143 58
Kingston, NY 36.2 $63,500.00 $232,000.00 144 32
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 35.9 $30,000.00 $111,000.00 145 59
Chico, CA 35.4 $52,000.00 $236,000.00 146 17
Bellingham, WA 35.3 $58,200.00 $245,000.00 147 18
Olympia, WA 34.5 $64,300.00 $245,000.00 148 19
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL MSA 34.0 $54,100.00 $225,000.00 149 60
Tucson, AZ 33.4 $52,400.00 $217,000.00 150 20
Punta Gorda, FL 33.1 $49,800.00 $213,000.00 151 61
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA 32.9 $68,300.00 $255,000.00 152 33
Atlantic City, NJ 32.8 $64,300.00 $260,000.00 153 34
Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL 32.8 $57,500.00 $252,000.00 153 62
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY 32.6 $76,400.00 $280,000.00 155 35
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 32.3 $93,400.00 $410,000.00 156 36
Salt Lake City, UT 31.6 $60,100.00 $269,000.00 157 21
Boise City-Nampa, ID 30.6 $58,500.00 $248,000.00 158 22
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 30.0 $59,100.00 $258,000.00 159 23
Eugene-Springfield, OR 29.6 $52,200.00 $220,000.00 160 24
Edison, NJ ^^^ 29.4 $85,600.00 $340,000.00 161 37
Provo-Orem, UT 29.3 $55,100.00 $265,000.00 162 25
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA 29.0 $63,800.00 $270,000.00 163 26
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 28.8 $65,700.00 $280,000.00 164 27
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 28.8 $57,900.00 $250,000.00 164 27
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL ^^^ 28.8 $61,200.00 $275,000.00 164 63
Boston-Quincy, MA ^^^ 28.3 $76,900.00 $347,000.00 167 38
Prescott, AZ 28.1 $49,100.00 $243,000.00 168 29
Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL ^^^ 27.7 $58,400.00 $270,000.00 169 64
El Paso, TX 27.6 $36,500.00 $140,000.00 170 65
Redding, CA 27.1 $52,700.00 $250,000.00 171 30
Port St. Lucie, FL 26.4 $52,800.00 $232,000.00 172 66
Orlando-Kissimmee, FL 26.1 $54,900.00 $248,000.00 173 67
Tacoma, WA ^^^ 25.9 $61,500.00 $265,000.00 174 31
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 25.8 $54,700.00 $250,000.00 175 68
Medford, OR 25.0 $52,700.00 $250,000.00 176 32
Laredo, TX 24.1 $34,000.00 $147,000.00 177 69
Flagstaff, AZ 23.2 $53,500.00 $320,000.00 178 33
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA ^^^ 22.6 $75,600.00 $370,000.00 179 34
Honolulu, HI 21.8 $73,500.00 $475,000.00 180 35
Newark-Union, NJ-PA ^^^ 21.2 $83,200.00 $375,000.00 181 39
Reno-Sparks, NV 21.2 $64,000.00 $303,000.00 181 36
Carson City, NV 20.0 $58,800.00 $270,000.00 183 37
Santa Fe, NM 19.5 $57,000.00 $329,000.00 184 38
St. George, UT 19.3 $49,600.00 $287,000.00 185 39
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV 18.9 $60,100.00 $297,000.00 186 40
Barnstable Town, MA 18.3 $70,400.00 $347,000.00 187 40
Hanford-Corcoran, CA 18.2 $46,800.00 $260,000.00 188 41
Naples-Marco Island, FL 17.9 $63,900.00 $365,000.00 189 70
Bakersfield, CA 17.1 $47,800.00 $260,000.00 190 42
Yuba City, CA 16.2 $51,700.00 $272,000.00 191 43
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 15.3 $75,400.00 $420,000.00 192 44
Madera, CA 15.2 $51,000.00 $295,000.00 193 45
Ocean City, NJ 15.0 $62,900.00 $435,000.00 194 41
Bend, OR 14.7 $58,700.00 $310,000.00 195 46
Visalia-Porterville, CA 14.4 $43,700.00 $240,000.00 196 47
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 14.1 $74,500.00 $495,000.00 197 48
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 13.6 $94,500.00 $646,000.00 198 49
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA 13.4 $67,200.00 $363,000.00 199 50
Fresno, CA 12.7 $48,900.00 $278,000.00 200 51
Nassau-Suffolk, NY ^^^ 12.1 $93,800.00 $435,000.00 201 42
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA ^^^ 11.4 $83,000.00 $533,000.00 202 52
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 10.5 $79,500.00 $545,000.00 203 53
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL ^^^ 10.0 $45,200.00 $288,000.00 204 71
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 9.7 $59,200.00 $380,000.00 205 54
Stockton, CA 9.7 $60,300.00 $390,000.00 205 54
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 9.4 $69,400.00 $460,000.00 207 56
El Centro, CA 8.4 $42,000.00 $254,000.00 208 57
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 8.2 $81,300.00 $655,000.00 209 58
Modesto, CA 7.0 $56,000.00 $341,000.00 210 59
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 6.9 $64,200.00 $504,000.00 211 60
Napa, CA 6.7 $75,800.00 $565,000.00 212 61
San Francisco-San mateo-Redwood City, CA ^^^ 6.7 $86,500.00 $748,000.00 212 61
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ ^^^ 6.0 $59,500.00 $500,000.00 214 43
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA 6.0 $67,100.00 $553,000.00 214 63
Merced, CA 5.6 $46,800.00 $311,000.00 216 64
Salinas, CA 4.6 $63,400.00 $569,000.00 217 65
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA ^^^ 4.4 $78,700.00 $610,000.00 218 66
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA ^^^ 3.0 $61,700.00 $525,000.00 219 67
^^^ Indicate Metropolitan Divisions. All others are Metropolitan Statistical Areas.


Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.