Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It has $47k listed for my state (AL). It’s possible at that income, but it will get you a 1960s rancher with one bathroom, not some huge new house with a 3 car garage like so many people nowadays seem to expect.
The state maps are misleading as there is so much intra-state price variation within MSAs. Texas can be very expensive or dirt cheap depending on where you live. New York is skewed by NYC where some places upstate are dirt cheap. It also doesn’t take into account for property tax which has 300-500% volatility between the extremes in states.
I was thinking the same thing! This map HAS to be way wrong! Texas and Arizona higher than Illinois? LOL!!!
Much of Illinois away from Chicago has very low housing prices. Arizona is basically Phoenix and Tucson with fewer smaller towns around the state. And the ones that do exist are pricey resort towns like Prescott, Sedona and Flagstaff.
So I could easily see Arizona having a higher median price that Illinois.
But I would say a comparable home and neighborhood in Chicago would cost more than that same sort of house in Phoenix.
Arizona is basically Phoenix and Tucson with fewer smaller towns around the state. And the ones that do exist are pricey resort towns like Prescott, Sedona and Flagstaff.
Nah man there are lots of small cities in Arizona that aren't pricey resort towns, most of 'em are pretty cheap. For example Yuma is much bigger than Prescott/Sedona/Flag. Bullhead, AJ, Sierra Vista, etc.
Ohio is number 2, close behind number 1 West Virginia. Ohio does not have a reputation as a low cost, low tax state, but the more I look, the more I find that moving out of state would end up costing me more to live.
I'm somewhat surprised by the orange states... ie: everyone says Texas is so affordable, but according to this it's higher than average.
About 5 years ago, TX would probably have averaged just a bit higher than OK, probably about on par with Louisiana. However, prices have almost doubled where I live in the last 5 years, no joke. Also, TX has that reputation because the average home here is going to be larger than the average home in most other states. So price/sq ft is very good here, and contributes to that reputation, you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CGab
Whereas a state like Arizona or Texas where the property taxes are lower makes a HUGE difference.
I don't know about Arizona, but TX doesn't have low property taxes. Not at all. We have no state income tax, so we have high property taxes to make up for it. I paid $16k in property taxes last year. That being said, I still come out ahead by not having a state income tax.
The map does not take state income tax and property taxes into account. If you find a place to live with no or low state income tax and low property taxes, you have more income to afford a mortgage.
The problem with this is the basic economics Of house values being super high in the metros because of the concentration of high paying, good jobs. The lower housing costs in these states are in the areas with low paying jobs or no professional jobs.
It doesn’t make sense to look at an average income vs an average house cost because that’s not even a realistic scenario.
A state average house cost located in a major metro is probably going to be in the ghetto or need a full gut. So sure, you make a middle tier wage in a big metro to put you above the state average dragged down by the low paying areas....but that just means you can’t afford a good house in that metro and you sure as hell cant commute in.
Outside of finding the super good Fortune 500 job located in a small town, you aren’t going to see high wages and low housing. Or a high end remote job.
Last edited by Thatsright19; 04-11-2018 at 02:45 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.