This is the Salary You Need To Afford the Average Home in Your State

Jordan Rosenfeld

May 29, 2023 at 1:31 PM·7 min read

Shopping for a home can be one of the most exciting-and daunting-milestones in your life. Before you shop for a home, it's important to find out just how much you can afford to pay for your monthly mortgage payment, which is based upon how much income you make.

Visiting a lender to get prequalified for a home loan is one of the first things you should do to learn the amount you might be eligible to borrow and the amount you'd owe each month. Depending upon what state you live in, that salary amount can vary quite widely. For example, you only need to earn about $60,500 in Arkansas to buy an average home, whereas you'd have to earn almost $176,000 to afford one in Hawaii.

For you to own a home, and live comfortably, some financial experts recommend your housing costs -- primarily your mortgage payments -- shouldn't consume more than 30% of your monthly income. With this rule of thumb in mind, GOBankingRates looked at home prices and mortgage rates in every state and estimated the minimum salary needed to afford the average home. Keep reading to find out what the cost of housing looks like in your home state.

Alabama: $64,163

2023 average home value: $201,212
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,058.61
Annual mortgage payments: $12,703

Alaska: $106,279

2023 average home value: $357,035
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,065.86
Annual mortgage payments: $24,790

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Arizona: $96,344

2023 average home value: $420,605
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,304.00
Annual mortgage payments: $27,648

Arkansas: $60,487

2023 average home value: $176,107
Monthly mortgage payment: $963.21
Annual mortgage payments: $11,559

California: $148,908

2023 average home value: $748,161
Monthly mortgage payment: $4,148.16
Annual mortgage payments: $49,778

Colorado: $111,199

2023 average home value: $552,779
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,977.35
Annual mortgage payments: $35,728

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Connecticut: $103,999

2023 average home value: $379,101
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,427.31
Annual mortgage payments: $29,128

Delaware: $89,773

2023 average home value: $355,120
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,927.53
Annual mortgage payments: $23,130

Florida: $95,979

2023 average home value: $398,861
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,271.31
Annual mortgage payments: $27,256

graphiknation / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Georgia: $80,105

2023 average home value: $307,375
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,750.34
Annual mortgage payments: $21,004

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Hawaii: $176,010

2023 average home value: $971,526
Monthly mortgage payment: $5,046.57
Annual mortgage payments: $60,559

Idaho: $97,916

2023 average home value: $971,526
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,418.02
Annual mortgage payments: $29,016

Illinois: $79,065

2023 average home value: $239,065
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,588.47
Annual mortgage payments: $19,062

Indiana: $69,677

2023 average home value: $221,357
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,247.60
Annual mortgage payments: $14,971

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Iowa: $70,093

2023 average home value: $201,546
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,246.79
Annual mortgage payments: $14,961

Kansas: $70,204

2023 average home value: $208,883
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,260.85
Annual mortgage payments: $15,130

Kentucky: $64,790

2023 average home value: $188,438
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,058.92
Annual mortgage payments: $12,707

Louisiana: $63,119

2023 average home value: $182,124
Monthly mortgage payment: $980.95
Annual mortgage payments: $11,771

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Maine: $93,928

2023 average home value: $347,071
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,074.73
Annual mortgage payments: $24,897

Maryland: $97,091

2023 average home value: $395,518
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,295.12
Annual mortgage payments: $27,541

Massachusetts: $131,536

2023 average home value: $576,102
Monthly mortgage payment: $3,391.02
Annual mortgage payments: $40,692

Michigan: $70,928

2023 average home value: $212,868
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,295.55
Annual mortgage payments: $15,547

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Jacob Boomsma / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Minnesota: $87,301

2023 average home value: $320,005
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,872.93
Annual mortgage payments: $22,475

Mississippi: $59,413

2023 average home value: $160,346
Monthly mortgage payment: $878.35
Annual mortgage payments: $10,540

Missouri: $69,920

2023 average home value: $226,968
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,307.60
Annual mortgage payments: $15,691

Montana: $97,477

2023 average home value: $427,218
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,375.82
Annual mortgage payments: $28,510

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MidwestWilderness / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Nebraska: $76,661

2023 average home value: $242,560
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,522.75
Annual mortgage payments: $18,273

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Nevada: $98,623

2023 average home value: $429,767
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,336.28
Annual mortgage payments: $28,035

New Hampshire: $116,962

2023 average home value: $442,930
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,909.82
Annual mortgage payments: $34,918

New Jersey: $117,735

2023 average home value: $460,761
Monthly mortgage payment: $3,122.95
Annual mortgage payments: $37,475

New Mexico: $77,014

2023 average home value: $280,010
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,536.17
Annual mortgage payments: $18,434

New York: $101,804

2023 average home value: $396,058
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,410.47
Annual mortgage payments: $28,926

North Carolina: $82,358

2023 average home value: $309,902
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,741.49
Annual mortgage payments: $20,898

North Dakota: $76,476

2023 average home value: $245,226
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,404.61
Annual mortgage payments: $16,855

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Ohio: $70,976

2023 average home value: $206,508
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,291.26
Annual mortgage payments: $15,495

Oklahoma: $63,890

2023 average home value: $189,085
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,072.01
Annual mortgage payments: $12,864

Oregon: $114,269

2023 average home value: $491,744
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,812.52
Annual mortgage payments: $33,750

Pennsylvania: $78,695

2023 average home value: $243,386
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,503.60
Annual mortgage payments: $18,043

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Rhode Island: $106,613

2023 average home value: $421,742
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,584.36
Annual mortgage payments: $31,012

South Carolina: $75,950

2023 average home value: $272,103
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,470.12
Annual mortgage payments: $17,641

South Dakota: $79,649

2023 average home value: $283,596
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,678.74
Annual mortgage payments: $20,145

Tennessee: $75,947

2023 average home value: $287,793
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,583.67
Annual mortgage payments: $19,004

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Texas: $83,946

2023 average home value: $296,285
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,872.37
Annual mortgage payments: $22,468

Utah: $107,797

2023 average home value: $515,621
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,798.69
Annual mortgage payments: $33,584

Vermont: $97,731

2023 average home value: $327,908
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,115.93
Annual mortgage payments: $25,391

Virginia: $90,084

2023 average home value: $363,186
Monthly mortgage payment: $2,056.05
Annual mortgage payments: $24,673

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Washington: $123,625

2023 average home value: $577,876
Monthly mortgage payment: $3,276.26
Annual mortgage payments: $39,315

West Virginia: $60,980

2023 average home value: $145,893
Monthly mortgage payment: $787.02
Annual mortgage payments: $9,444

Wisconsin: $82,208

2023 average home value: $262,566
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,652.71
Annual mortgage payments: $19,833

Paola Giannoni / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Wyoming: $81,223

2023 average home value: $322,509
Monthly mortgage payment: $1,742.46
Annual mortgage payments: $20,910

More From GOBankingRates

Jami Farkas and Laura Beck contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates first surveyed monthly living expenses in all 50 states. The cost-of-living comparison included the following factors: (1) yearly mortgage by assuming 20% down payment, 30-year fixed loan, current interest rate as sourced from St. Louis Federal Reserve (6.27%) for every state and multiplying that by 12 (1 year), sourced from Zillow's home value index and determined using CNET Mortgage Calculator formula; (2) annual necessities cost (grocery, utilities, healthcare, and transportation) by taking the 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer expenditure survey and factored out by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center's cost of living index for all of 2022. Necessity costs were totaled the annual dollar cost of necessities in each state. This dollar amount for necessities was then doubled to find the (3) actual annual income needed to live comfortably in the state, assuming a person is following the 50-30-20 budgeting guideline, which requires an income double the cost of necessities. The amount of money specified for savings is equal to 20 percent of the total income needed, and the amount specified for discretionary spending is equal to 30 percent of the total income needed. All data was collected and is up to date as of April 18, 2023.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: This is the Salary You Need To Afford the Average Home in Your State

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