Housing Affordability · United States · Updated May 2026

Least affordable US states — price-to-income ratio

Q: What is the least affordable state to buy a home?

Hawaii is the least affordable state to buy a home with a price-to-income ratio of 8.4×. This means the median home costs 8.4 times the median household income — well above the national median of 3.9×. Other severely unaffordable states include California, District of Columbia, Oregon.

Q: Which states are hardest for first-time homebuyers?

The hardest states for first-time buyers based on price-to-income ratio are Hawaii (8.4×), California (7.4×), District of Columbia (6.7×), Oregon (5.8×), Washington (5.8×). These states require a household income well above the local median, a much larger down payment, or both, to qualify for a conventional mortgage at standard lending thresholds.

Q: What is a good price-to-income ratio when buying a home?

A price-to-income ratio at or below 3× is generally considered affordable — the home costs three times or less than annual household income. Between 3× and 5× indicates a strained market. Above 5×, the level all ten states featured on this page have already reached, represents a severe affordability crisis where homeownership is out of reach for median-income earners without significant outside help. The national median across all 50 states is 3.9×.

The price-to-income ratio divides median home value by median household income. A higher ratio means less affordable. Hawaii is the least affordable at 8.4×. Data: ACS 5-Year 2024.

The national median price-to-income ratio is 3.9×. Every state on this list sits above that line — the gap between Hawaii and the median shows how far out of reach homeownership has moved here compared with a typical US market.

These rankings use the 2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, covering the period 2020–2024. Median home value and median household income are measured at the state level. The ratio is computed as median home value ÷ median household income.

All 50 states + DC ranked

Least affordable states — complete ranking

The least affordable states are overwhelmingly in the West and Northeast, where demand has outpaced income growth for decades. Hawaii (8.4×), California (7.4×), Oregon (5.8×) lead the least affordable tier. Midwestern and Southern states consistently offer better value relative to local incomes.

A ratio below 3× is generally considered affordable by housing economists. Between 3× and 5× indicates a strained market. Above 5× — the level seen in Hawaii, California, and Massachusetts — represents a severe affordability crisis where homeownership is effectively out of reach for median-income households without substantial outside assistance. The ten states above range from 5.2× up to 8.4× — every one has already crossed past the 5× crisis threshold, a materially different buying environment from the states clustering near the 3× line at the other end of this ranking.

State Ratio Median Price Median Income

1 Hawaii 8.4× $839,100 $100,389 2 California 7.4× $734,700 $99,122 3 District of Columbia 6.7× $737,100 $109,870 4 Oregon 5.8× $477,600 $83,011 5 Washington 5.8× $564,600 $98,141 6 Nevada 5.6× $435,400 $78,260 7 Colorado 5.6× $539,400 $95,470 8 Idaho 5.4× $418,600 $77,800 9 Massachusetts 5.4× $562,100 $103,960 10 Montana 5.2× $375,800 $72,509 11 Utah 5.1× $489,400 $95,166 12 New York 4.9× $423,800 $85,974 13 Arizona 4.9× $394,500 $79,964 14 Florida 4.8× $359,000 $74,568 15 Rhode Island 4.6× $404,200 $87,796 16 New Jersey 4.4× $454,400 $103,556 17 Delaware 4.1× $352,000 $84,954 18 Maryland 4.1× $419,900 $103,678 19 New Hampshire 4.1× $402,500 $99,031 20 Tennessee 4.1× $286,700 $69,595 21 Virginia 4.1× $383,700 $93,170 22 Wyoming 4.1× $309,700 $76,176 23 Maine 4× $296,600 $74,733 24 North Carolina 4× $288,900 $72,388 25 Georgia 3.9× $303,300 $77,353 26 New Mexico 3.9× $248,100 $64,059 27 Vermont 3.9× $316,600 $81,203 28 Alaska 3.8× $352,900 $92,788 29 Connecticut 3.8× $366,900 $95,781 30 Minnesota 3.7× $329,300 $89,062 31 South Carolina 3.7× $259,000 $69,324 32 Louisiana 3.6× $216,500 $60,756 33 Texas 3.6× $283,800 $78,476 34 South Dakota 3.4× $257,400 $75,081 35 Wisconsin 3.4× $266,500 $77,485 36 Missouri 3.3× $230,300 $70,702 37 North Dakota 3.3× $249,900 $76,657 38 Pennsylvania 3.3× $254,500 $77,971 39 Alabama 3.3× $209,900 $63,999 40 Illinois 3.2× $263,300 $83,390 41 Kentucky 3.2× $205,600 $63,726 42 Michigan 3.2× $231,600 $72,875 43 Nebraska 3.1× $238,600 $76,475 44 Oklahoma 3.1× $199,800 $65,039 45 Arkansas 3.1× $188,000 $60,773 46 Indiana 3× $218,200 $71,957 47 Mississippi 3× $169,800 $56,447 48 Ohio 3× $214,800 $71,389 49 Kansas 2.9× $217,200 $74,275 50 Iowa 2.8× $208,000 $75,059 51 West Virginia 2.7× $162,600 $59,608

Methodology

How the price-to-income ratio is calculated

The price-to-income ratio is calculated by dividing the median home value by the median household income for each state. Both figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, 2024 release (covering survey years 2020–2024).

Unaffordable states share one consistent, data-backed pattern: median home value has climbed well past median household income. This site tracks ACS home values and incomes, not zoning, land supply, or migration flows — it can measure that gap but not attribute it to a specific driver. Treat any explanation for why a given state became unaffordable as informed speculation, not something this dataset confirms.

Limitations: the ratio uses state-level medians, which can mask significant variation within states. A state like California has affordable inland counties alongside severely unaffordable coastal metros. For county-level data, use the interactive map.

Data source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2024). Supplemented with FHFA House Price Index for county-level trend data.

Common questions

FAQ — least affordable states

What is the least affordable state to buy a home?

Hawaii is the least affordable state with a price-to-income ratio of 8.4×. Other severely unaffordable states include California (7.4×), District of Columbia (6.7×), Oregon (5.8×).

Which states are hardest for first-time homebuyers?

The hardest states for first-time buyers are Hawaii, California, District of Columbia, Oregon, Washington — all with ratios well above the national median of 3.9×. Qualifying for a conventional mortgage in these markets typically requires an income well above the local median, a much larger down payment, or both.

What is a good price-to-income ratio when buying a home?

At or below 3× is considered affordable. Between 3–5× is strained. Above 5× — the level all ten states above have reached — is a severe affordability crisis. The national median is 3.9×.

Are Western and Northeastern states the least affordable in the US?

Yes. Hawaii, California, and Massachusetts consistently rank among the least affordable, with price-to-income ratios well above the national median. This site's data shows the gap but doesn't track the underlying drivers — migration, zoning, income distribution within a state — so it can confirm that the gap exists, not why.

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