The median salary needed to buy a home in the United States today is $104,339—meaning the median salary needed to buy a house in Boston is nearly double.
The median home price in the United States currently hovers at $389,400 which constitutes a monthly payment of $2,434.60. The median home price in Boston is astronomically higher, as expected, at $704,700. This pans out to a monthly payment of $4,341.40.
Assuming about 30% of monthly income is allocated to your mortgage, this means you’d need to bring in over $15,000 a month to afford a home in Boston, which equates to an annual salary of $186,100.
To make things worse (sorry) Boston has the fifth highest median home price in the country according to the dataset from Voronoi by Visual Capitalist, an online publisher focused on markets, tech, and the global economy. According to the study, these are the top five most expensive cities to buy a home in the U.S. and the respective monthly payment towards the mortgage:
- San Jose, CA; Median home price: $1,840,000; Monthly payment: $10,824
- San Francisco, CA; Median home price: $1,300,000; Monthly payment: $7,844
- San Diego, CA; Median home price: $981,000; Monthly payment: $5,641
- Seattle, WA; Median home price: $755,300; Monthly payment: $4464
- Boston, MA; Median home price: $704,700; Monthly payment: $4341
The only city with a median home price below $200,000 is Cleveland, Ohio at $191,900 and a monthly payment of $1,362. Boston is actually more expensive than New York City where the median home price is $659,200.
All cities have seen a dramatic increase in median home prices, with the average national salary needed to purchase a home jumping from $59,000 in 2020 to now $104,339.