Cost of city living
Are you thinking of buying a home but daunted by the financial footwork? The team at SmartAsset.com crunched the numbers for you using their mortgage calculator. Read on to find out the median home-payment costs for the 15 largest cities in the U.S. — from the least expensive to the priciest — and the salary you'll need to pay them.
SmartAsset did these calculations for the median home in each city, factoring in a 20 percent down payment on a 30-year mortgage, with a 4 percent interest rate after the down payment.
— By CNBC.com's Natalia Wojcik
Posted 23 February 2017
Source: SmartAsset.com
15. Indianapolis
The most affordable city on the list, Indianapolis' average monthly home payments about are $609, and you'd need a salary of about $20,294 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
14. Jacksonville, Florida
The monthly home payment for Jacksonville is $700 on average. You'd need a salary of about $23,332 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
13. San Antonio
Monthly home payments in San Antonio are $706 on average. You'd need a salary of about $23,529 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
12. Philadelphia
The monthly home payment for Philly is $734 on average. You'd need a salary of about $24,465 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
11. Columbus, Ohio
The monthly home payment for Columbus is $771 on average. You'd need a salary of about $25,702 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
10. Phoenix
The monthly home payment for Phoenix is about $804. You'd need a salary of about $26,803 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
9. Houston
The monthly home payment for Houston is about $812, and a salary of around $27,067 should be sufficient.
Source: SmartAsset.com
8. Dallas
The monthly home payment for Dallas is $825 on average. You'd need a salary of about $27,505 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
7. Chicago
Monthly home payments in the Windy City blow in at about $1,327. You'd need a salary of about $44,244 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
6. Austin, Texas
The monthly home payments for Austin is $1,426 on average, but the city also boasts high property taxes. You'd need a salary of about $47,523 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
5. San Diego
The monthly home payments for San Diego is $2,274 on average. With a salary of about $75,816 you could afford this, making San Diego the most affordable of the Californian cities on this list.
Source: SmartAsset.com
4. Los Angeles
The monthly home payments for L.A. is around $2,317. You'd need a salary of about $77,000 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
3. New York City
Monthly home payments in the Big Apple take a bite out of salaries, averaging around $2,910. You'd need to earn about $99,963 a year to afford this. Though the payments are similar to the next most expensive city — found in Southern California — home there are around 20 percent more expensive.
Source: SmartAsset.com
2. San Jose
The monthly home payments for San Jose is around $3,000. You'd need a salary of about $99,963 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
1. San Francisco
The City by the Bay has some of the most expensive real estate in the country. The median home is largely out of reach for the typical household, at $3,858 per month in total monthly payments. You'd need a salary of about $128,600 to afford this.
Source: SmartAsset.com
