Key points from the map
- The map measures housing affordability by state as a year of personal income divided by the typical home price, for the first quarter of 2024. A higher percentage means more affordable.
- For the United States as a whole the figure is 20%, so a home costs about five years of income.
- West Virginia is the most affordable state at 34%, followed by Iowa, Oklahoma and Louisiana at 30%.
- Hawaii is the least affordable at 8%, about 12.5 years of income, followed by California at 11%.
- Housing is least affordable along the Pacific coast, in the Mountain West and in parts of New England, and most affordable across the Midwest, the Plains and the South.
Housing affordability by state in text
Title: Housing Affordability Across U.S. States. Subtitle: Annual Personal Income as a Percentage of Home Prices (Q1 2024). Legend: a colour scale from light orange (Less Affordable) to dark red (More Affordable), marked 8%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 34%, with a marker for U.S.: 20%. Footer: Sources: BEA and Zillow. Research and visualization: Ehsan Soltani, www.econovis.net, @econovisuals. The graphic also carries the Voronoi app banner.
All 50 states as printed, sorted from most to least affordable. The years column is 100 divided by the percentage, our own arithmetic.
| State | Income as % of home price | Years of income per home (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 34% | 2.9 |
| Iowa | 30% | 3.3 |
| Louisiana | 30% | 3.3 |
| Oklahoma | 30% | 3.3 |
| Kansas | 29% | 3.4 |
| North Dakota | 29% | 3.4 |
| Illinois | 28% | 3.6 |
| Kentucky | 28% | 3.6 |
| Mississippi | 28% | 3.6 |
| Ohio | 28% | 3.6 |
| Arkansas | 27% | 3.7 |
| Nebraska | 27% | 3.7 |
| Pennsylvania | 27% | 3.7 |
| Indiana | 26% | 3.8 |
| Michigan | 26% | 3.8 |
| Missouri | 26% | 3.8 |
| Alabama | 24% | 4.2 |
| South Dakota | 24% | 4.2 |
| Connecticut | 23% | 4.3 |
| Wyoming | 23% | 4.3 |
| Minnesota | 22% | 4.5 |
| Texas | 22% | 4.5 |
| Wisconsin | 22% | 4.5 |
| Alaska | 21% | 4.8 |
| South Carolina | 20% | 5.0 |
| Tennessee | 20% | 5.0 |
| Virginia | 20% | 5.0 |
| New Mexico | 19% | 5.3 |
| North Carolina | 19% | 5.3 |
| Florida | 18% | 5.6 |
| Georgia | 18% | 5.6 |
| Maryland | 18% | 5.6 |
| New York | 18% | 5.6 |
| Vermont | 18% | 5.6 |
| Delaware | 17% | 5.9 |
| Maine | 17% | 5.9 |
| New Hampshire | 17% | 5.9 |
| Nevada | 16% | 6.2 |
| New Jersey | 16% | 6.2 |
| Arizona | 15% | 6.7 |
| Colorado | 15% | 6.7 |
| Massachusetts | 15% | 6.7 |
| Rhode Island | 15% | 6.7 |
| Montana | 14% | 7.1 |
| Washington | 14% | 7.1 |
| Idaho | 13% | 7.7 |
| Oregon | 13% | 7.7 |
| Utah | 13% | 7.7 |
| California | 11% | 9.1 |
| Hawaii | 8% | 12.5 |
| United States | 20% | 5.0 |
How to read the percentages
The two inputs come from different sources. Personal income is the Bureau of Economic Analysis measure of the income people living in each state receive from wages, proprietors’ income, dividends, interest, rents and government benefits [2]. Home prices come from Zillow’s housing data [3]. Dividing one by the other gives a simple price to income measure: at 20%, a year’s income pays for a fifth of a typical home.
Turning the percentage around gives the number of years of income a home costs. In West Virginia it is about 2.9 years, in Iowa, Oklahoma and Louisiana about 3.3 years, and in Hawaii about 12.5 years. California, at 11%, is about 9.1 years. The measure does not include mortgage rates, deposits, taxes or insurance, all of which affect what a buyer actually pays each month.
Regional patterns
Every Pacific and Mountain West state except Wyoming (23%) and Alaska (21%) sits below the national 20%, with Oregon, Idaho and Utah at 13% and Washington and Montana at 14%. In the Northeast, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are at 15% and New Jersey at 16%, while Pennsylvania (27%) and Connecticut (23%) are above the national figure.
The most affordable band, 26% and above, takes in much of the Midwest and the Plains, including Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kansas, Nebraska and North Dakota, and much of the South, including Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The South Atlantic states, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia, sit close to the national average at 18% to 20%.
Notes on this infographic
- Legend marker. The black marker for U.S.: 20% sits a little to the right of the 20% tick on the colour scale.
- District of Columbia. Washington, D.C. is not labelled on the map.
- Exact inputs. The graphic does not say which Zillow price series or which BEA income measure it uses, for example total or per person, so we have not recalculated the percentages.
- Rounded values. Values are whole percentages, so states with the same figure may differ slightly.
Questions about housing affordability by state
What is the most affordable state to live in?
For housing, this map puts West Virginia first: a year’s income there equals 34% of a typical home price, about three years of income for a home. Iowa, Oklahoma and Louisiana follow at 30%. The map does not cover other living costs.
Is housing affordable in the US?
On this measure, a typical home in the United States cost about five years of personal income in early 2024, since a year’s income covered 20% of the price. Affordability varies widely, from about three years in West Virginia to about twelve and a half in Hawaii.
What is the least affordable state for housing?
Hawaii is the least affordable, where a year's personal income equals 8% of a typical home price in the first quarter of 2024. That works out at about 12.5 years of income for a home. California is next at 11%, about 9.1 years, followed by Idaho, Oregon and Utah at 13%.
How is housing affordability by state measured?
Ehsan Soltani's map divides a year of personal income by the typical home price for the first quarter of 2024, so a higher percentage means more affordable housing. Personal income is the Bureau of Economic Analysis measure, covering wages, proprietors' income, dividends, interest, rents and government benefits [2]. Home prices come from Zillow [3]. The measure leaves out mortgage rates, deposits, taxes and insurance.
Sources
- Ehsan Soltani, Econovis, the maker of the map.
- US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Personal Income by State.
- Zillow Research, housing data.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
