The income needed to buy a home in the US now $22,000 above what typical American households earn, a new report from real estate website Redfin revealed.
One year ago, that number was even higher, the report said, at $26,000. Two years ago, the gap was $29,000.
“The earnings needed to buy a house have stabilized after several years of deterioration, but that doesn’t mean homes are affordable to the average American,” Redfin Senior Economist Yingqi Xu said in a release. “There’s still a double-digit gap between what the typical household earns and what they need to comfortably buy a home, leaving many prospective first-time buyers stalled on the sidelines.”
According to the report, a home is considered affordable if a buyer taking out a mortgage “would spend no more than 30% of their income on their monthly housing payment,” with Redfin assuming a 15% down payment.
Overall, Americans need to earn at least $109,796 to afford the typical U.S. home for sale, compared to an all-time high of $110,382 a year ago, the report said.
According to Redfin, the median household income in June 2026 was estimated to be $87,599.
“Home prices skyrocketed amid the pandemic homebuying frenzy, then mortgage rates doubled,” the report said. “Now, the story is different, with the income needed to afford a home consistently dropping since October 2025.”
While the market isn’t becoming much more affordable, it is becoming more manageable for some house hunters, Redfin said.
“It’s a buyer’s market in most of the country, especially places that were once pandemic homebuying hotspots like Nashville and Austin, giving buyers lots of options to choose from and strong negotiating power,” Xu said.
The full report from Redfin can be found here.
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