Home Buying

Even high-income earners have trouble affording housing here

Report that looks at housing affordability in nation's 50th largest metros ranks Boston as the fifth most frustrating metro for home buyers.

Boston ranked higher in housing affordability than only four cities, and they are all in California

By Boston.com Staff

1 minute to read

Metro Boston is the fifth-most-expensive housing market for high-wage earners, according to a report the LendingTree financial site released Monday.

In only 30 of the nation’s largest metros, a person in the highest-paying occupation group can afford a mortgage on the median-value home, according to the report. In Boston, that’s the legal field, with a median salary of $110,476, a median home value of $618,100, and a calculated mortgage payment for that home at $3,708 a month.

That’s $1,131 more than that earner can afford.

Boston ranked higher in affordability than only four cities, and they are all in California:

50. San Jose (-$4,115)

49. San Francisco (-$2,821)

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48. San Diego (-$2,378)

47. Los Angeles (-$2,239)

The most affordable metros on housing for high-earners were mostly in the Midwest, where you can have money left over to build your savings:

1. Cleveland ($1,095)

2. Milwaukee ($990)

3. Memphis ($973)

4. Detroit ($759)

5. Pittsburgh ($742)

In this housing study, LendingTree calculated “affordable” mortgage payments based on the 28% rule, which suggests that borrowers should spend no more than 28% of their gross monthly income on their monthly mortgage payments. The median home value and occupation group earnings data are via the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 American Community Survey with one-year estimates (the latest available).

Legal occupations had the highest median earnings in 19 of the nation’s 50 largest metros, while architecture and engineering occupations did in 15 metros. Further, the highest median earnings came from computer and mathematical occupations in 11 cities, followed by law enforcement occupations (three) and health diagnosing and treating practitioner occupations (two).

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Mortgage rate data are via Freddie Mac and reflect the average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages as of Oct. 5. The mortgage rate has risen since then, to 7.63%.

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