Housing Affordability: Top and Bottom Counties in the US

In San Mateo County, California, the typical home carries a price tag of $1,494,500 against a median household income of $156,000, a price-to-income ratio of 9.6x. That figure anchors the most expensive end of the national housing spectrum, where a handful of counties have effectively priced out buyers who earn a solid middle-class wage. Nationwide, the median home value sits at $172,300, but that average masks a range that spans from barely $45,200 in Todd County, South Dakota, to well over a million dollars in coastal and resort markets.

Counties with the Highest Home Values

The counties below represent the highest median home values in the country, ranked using ACS owner-occupied housing unit data. In each case, the price-to-income ratio illustrates how far median wages fall short of what conventional mortgage guidelines would require.

1. San Mateo County, California — median home value $1,494,500, median household income $156,000, price-to-income ratio 9.6x
2. Marin County, California — median home value $1,390,000, median household income $142,785, price-to-income ratio 9.7x
3. Nantucket County, Massachusetts — median home value $1,387,000, median household income $119,750, price-to-income ratio 11.6x
4. Santa Clara County, California — median home value $1,382,800, median household income $159,674, price-to-income ratio 8.7x
5. San Francisco County, California — median home value $1,380,500, median household income $141,446, price-to-income ratio 9.8x
6. Teton County, Wyoming — median home value $1,371,900, median household income $112,681, price-to-income ratio 12.2x
7. Pitkin County, Colorado — median home value $1,131,200, median household income $100,318, price-to-income ratio 11.3x
8. New York County, New York — median home value $1,108,900, median household income $104,553, price-to-income ratio 10.6x

Counties Where Homes Are Most Attainable

At the other end of the spectrum, several counties post home values that are genuinely reachable on a median income. These tend to cluster in the rural Midwest and South, where land is plentiful and construction costs remain comparatively low. Their price-to-income ratios stay below 3x, a threshold that mortgage lenders once treated as the outer boundary of responsible borrowing.

1. Todd County, South Dakota — median home value $45,200, median household income $39,148, price-to-income ratio 1.2x
2. Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota — median home value $45,600, median household income $34,769, price-to-income ratio 1.3x
3. McDowell County, West Virginia — median home value $49,200, median household income $29,980, price-to-income ratio 1.6x
4. Stewart County, Georgia — median home value $53,000, median household income $35,000, price-to-income ratio 1.5x
5. Cottle County, Texas — median home value $54,100, median household income $58,819, price-to-income ratio 0.9x
6. Stonewall County, Texas — median home value $54,700, median household income $61,250, price-to-income ratio 0.9x
7. Hudspeth County, Texas — median home value $57,400, median household income $39,336, price-to-income ratio 1.5x
8. Cochran County, Texas — median home value $57,700, median household income $42,137, price-to-income ratio 1.4x

Cost Burden: Where Renters Feel the Most Pressure

Home values tell only part of the story. For the roughly one-third of Americans who rent, the more relevant measure is how large a share of income goes straight to the landlord. The ACS defines cost-burdened households as those spending 30% or more of income on housing. The national median sits at 23.0%, but in some counties the share climbs well above 50%. The national median rent is $848 per month.

1. Bronx County, New York — 52.2% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $1,436
2. Nantucket County, Massachusetts — 47.4% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $2,070
3. Miami-Dade County, Florida — 47.0% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $1,731
4. Los Angeles County, California — 45.3% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $1,893
5. Kings County, New York — 45.1% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $1,784
6. Broward County, Florida — 44.3% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $1,804
7. Essex County, New Jersey — 44.1% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $1,459
8. Queens County, New York — 43.9% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $1,915

Where Housing Costs Take the Smallest Bite

A number of counties, mostly in the Great Plains and parts of the South, report cost-burden rates that remain well below the national median. These communities combine modest rents with incomes drawn from agriculture, energy, or manufacturing.

1. Hooker County, Nebraska — 3.8% cost-burdened households, median rent $581
2. Culberson County, Texas — 4.6% cost-burdened households, median rent $971
3. Crockett County, Texas — 4.8% cost-burdened households, median rent $585
4. Stanton County, Kansas — 5.6% cost-burdened households, median rent $691
5. Borden County, Texas — 5.9% cost-burdened households, median rent N/A

What the Gap Means

The spread between the least and most expensive housing markets runs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for ownership and hundreds of dollars per month for rentals. For workers whose jobs are tied to specific geographies, that spread is not an abstract statistic. It determines whether a paycheck covers rent with room to spare, or whether a family sacrifices savings, healthcare, or childcare to stay housed. Counties at both extremes carry real consequences for local economies: severe unaffordability constrains workforce growth, while very low values can signal disinvestment and declining tax bases.

Explore detailed housing, income, and demographic data for any county at counties.cambium.ai.

Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates