Home Price-to-Income by State · Montana Tops at 8.7 Years, the Midwest Stays Affordable
Housing affordability now splits the country. In Montana it takes 8.7 years of median income to buy a typical home — the highest in the U.S. — followed by New York and Hawaii (8.1), California and Massachusetts (7.8). The Midwest stays within reach: Iowa just 3.7, Illinois 3.8, Ohio and Kansas 4.0. Even in Texas (4.8), a median-income household can no longer afford the $364.7K median-priced home.
Why this matters for B2B
Affordability maps demand. Where homes eat 7–9 years of income (Montana, California, New York, Hawaii), buyers renovate and stay put — a repair, remodel and home-improvement market. The affordable, fast-building Midwest and Sun Belt (Iowa, Ohio, Texas, Kansas) is where new construction and first-time furnishing demand concentrate — the buyers for building materials, fixtures and furniture. For a Houston wholesaler, Texas at 4.8 keeps the home-building pipeline active. Pair with home air-conditioning by state (atlas-c90), where Americans are priced out (atlas-c22), and the U.S. market overview.
Source: Home price-to-income ratio by U.S. state — years of median household income to buy a median-priced home. Visualization: Visual Capitalist. Reproduced above with a reposter watermark removed and source attribution preserved.