15 Cities Where You Need to Work the Most Hours to Afford a Home

couple walking in New York City
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Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on HireAHelper.

A very tight labor market has led to an increase in overall wages. Real median hourly wages have grown by 11.4% since 2000.

However, home prices have risen even faster; the real median home price has grown by nearly 44% over the same period. While workers’ wages are rising, home prices — and price levels overall — are eating away at these earnings gains.

As workers consider moving to take advantage of better-paying jobs, regional differences in home prices remain top of mind.

Despite having higher-paying jobs, high home prices mean that it is still difficult to afford a home in some parts of the country.

To determine the locations where people need to work the most hours to afford a home, researchers at HireAHelper analyzed the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Zillow.

The researchers ranked metros according to the weekly work hours needed to afford a median-priced home. The analysis assumes the worker is earning a median wage, makes a 20% down payment on the mortgage, and allocates less than 30% of their monthly wage to mortgage payments.

Researchers also calculated the monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home, the median home price, the median hourly wage, and the median annual wage.

Here are the U.S. metropolitan areas where people need to work the most hours to afford a home.

15. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

Las Vegas Skyline
littlenySTOCK / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 89
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $2,077
  • Median home price: $418,187
  • Median hourly wage: $18.05
  • Median annual wage: $37,550

14. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN

Nashville, Tennessee
Kevin Ruck / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 91
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $2,228
  • Median home price: $448,498
  • Median hourly wage: $18.88
  • Median annual wage: $39,260

13. Austin-Round Rock, TX

Austin, Texas
Roschetzky Photography / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 91
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $2,669
  • Median home price: $537,243
  • Median hourly wage: $22.55
  • Median annual wage: $49,910

12. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR, WA

Aerial view of Portland with Mount Hood in the background.
josemaria-toscano / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 92
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $2,784
  • Median home price: $560,474
  • Median hourly wage: $23.26
  • Median annual wage: $48,380

11. Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA

Sacramento, California
Ed Gavryush / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 96
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $2,917
  • Median home price: $587,164
  • Median hourly wage: $23.35
  • Median annual wage: $48,570

10. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Miami, Florida
littleny / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 98
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $2,364
  • Median home price: $475,854
  • Median hourly wage: $18.59
  • Median annual wage: $38,670

9. Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City, Utah homes
Jason Finn / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 98
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $2,867
  • Median home price: $577,249
  • Median hourly wage: $22.55
  • Median annual wage: $46,900

8. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Seattle, Washington
Edmund Lowe Photography / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 99
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $3,718
  • Median home price: $748,399
  • Median hourly wage: $28.96
  • Median annual wage: $60,230

7. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

Denver Colorado
Kevin Ruck / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 100
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $3,072
  • Median home price: $618,385
  • Median hourly wage: $23.66
  • Median annual wage: $49,210

6. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Riverside, California
MattGush / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 117
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $2,855
  • Median home price: $574,659
  • Median hourly wage: $18.76
  • Median annual wage: $39,020

5. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

The skyline of San Diego
Dancestrokes / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 145
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $4,342
  • Median home price: $874,095
  • Median hourly wage: $23.10
  • Median annual wage: $48,050

4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Long Beach California traffic
Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 150
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $4,460
  • Median home price: $897,894
  • Median hourly wage: $22.87
  • Median annual wage: $47,580

3. Urban Honolulu, HI

Downtown Honolulu
Karen Grigoryan / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 151
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $4,557
  • Median home price: $917,354
  • Median hourly wage: $23.17
  • Median annual wage: $48,200

2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

The skyline of San Jose
stellamc / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 162
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $7,636
  • Median home price: $1,537,192
  • Median hourly wage: $36.31
  • Median annual wage: $75,510

1. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

San Francisco, California
IM_photo / Shutterstock.com
  • Weekly hours needed to afford a median-priced home: 174
  • Monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home: $6,754
  • Median home price: $1,359,655
  • Median hourly wage: $29.81
  • Median annual wage: $62,000

Methodology

A man studies financial data at his computer
NicoElNino / Shutterstock.com

To determine the locations where people need to work the most hours to afford a home, researchers at HireAHelper analyzed the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2021 Occupational and Employment and Wage Statistics and Zillow’s Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), a measure of typical home value.

The researchers ranked metros according to the weekly work hours needed to afford a median-priced home. In the event of a tie, the metro with the larger median hourly wage was ranked higher.

Researchers also calculated the monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home, the median home price, and the median annual wage.

Median home price was calculated from Zillow’s ZHVI, and the monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home was calculated by assuming a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 20% down payment.

Weekly work hours needed to afford a median-price home were calculated assuming that no more than 30% of wage income goes towards mortgage payments.

To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 people were included in the analysis.

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