ATTOM released its Q1 2026 Home Affordability Report showing homes were less affordable than historical averages in 97 percent of counties with sufficient data to analyze for the first quarter.
At the beginning of the year, major monthly expenses for median-priced single-family homes and condos exceeded historic norms in 560 out of the 580 counties included in ATTOM’s analysis. It’s a slight improvement over the previous quarter, when median-priced homes were less affordable than their historical averages in 98 percent (567) of the 580 counties, and over the first quarter of 2025 (564 out of 580 counties).
Since the first quarter of 2024, the national median home price has risen by 8 percent from $333,438 to $360,000. Meanwhile, average weekly wages have increased by 6.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) latest data, which runs through the third quarter of 2025.
Mortgage rates declined throughout 2025 and in February of this year, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 5.98 percent, its lowest mark since 2022. Rates rose in March, reaching 6.22 percent as of March 19, as market volatility and rising Treasury yields, amid geopolitical and inflation concerns, put upward pressure on borrowing costs.
“Over the last several years, wages haven’t kept up with rising home prices in many markets,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber, said in a release. “Mortgage rates dropped throughout last year, which offset some of that growing affordability gap, but shifts in the broader economic environment can still influence rates and home purchasing power.”
ATTOM determines affordability for average wage earners by calculating the amount of income needed to meet major monthly homeownership expenses — including mortgage payments, mortgage insurance, property taxes and homeowner’s insurance — on a median-priced single-family home and condo, assuming a 20 percent down payment and a 28 percent maximum “front-end” debt-to-income ratio. That required income is measured against annualized average weekly wage data from the BLS.
In 69.1 percent (401) of the 580 counties in ATTOM’s analysis, major monthly home expenses exceeded 28 percent of the typical resident’s wages, meaning ownership was unaffordable by standard guidelines.
The most populous counties where monthly home expenses surpassed that 28 percent of income threshold were Los Angeles County, Calif. (home expenses required 66 percent of a typical resident’s wages); Maricopa County, Ariz. (36.6 percent of wages); San Diego County, Calif. (65.7 percent of wages); Orange County, Calif. (88.1 percent of wages); and Miami-Dade County, Fla. (43.6 percent of wages).
The most populous counties where home ownership would be considered affordable were Cook County, Ill. (25.1 percent of wages); Harris County, Texas (21.2 percent of wages); Dallas County, Texas (26.5 percent of wages); Bexar County, Texas (27.3 percent of wages); and Philadelphia County, Pa. (17.3 percent of wages).
The national median home price held steady between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 at $360,000, according to ATTOM.
Median home prices rose year-over-year in 61.7 percent (358) of the 580 counties in ATTOM’s analysis. Counties were included in the report if they had populations of at least 100,000 and at least 50 single-family home sales in the first quarter of 2026 and sufficient data.
There were 45 counties included that had populations over 1 million. Of those, the largest increases in median home prices were in Honolulu County, Hawaii (up 12 percent); Cuyahoga County, Ohio (up 5 percent); Tarrant County, Texas (up 5 percent); Queens County, N.Y. (up 4 percent); and Franklin County, Ohio (up 4 percent).
Among the most populous counties, the biggest decreases in annual median home prices were in Alameda County, Calif. (down 15 percent); Fairfax County, Va. (down 6 percent); Contra Costa County, Calif. (down 6 percent); Sacramento County, Calif. (down 6 percent); and Bexar County, Texas (down 5 percent).
View Q1 2026 U.S. Home Affordability Heat Map
Measured nationally over the span of several years, median home prices have been growing at a faster rate than wages. But between the first quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, typical wages grew faster than home prices in 64 percent (374) of the 580 counties in ATTOM’s analysis.
The most populous counties where wages outpaced home prices were Los Angeles County, Calif.; Cook County, Ill.; Harris County, Texas; Maricopa County, Ariz.; and San Diego County, Calif.
The most populous counties where home prices grew faster than wages were Queens County, N.Y.; Tarrant County, Texas; Bronx County, N.Y.; Nassau County, N.Y.; and Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
Major monthly expenses on a nationally median priced home would have consumed 30.3 percent of the typical worker’s wages in the first quarter of 2026, down slightly from 30.6 percent in the prior quarter and 31.6 percent at the same time last year.
In 24.8 percent (144) of the 580 counties in ATTOM’s analysis, monthly expenses on a median-priced home would have consumed more than 43 percent of typical wages, a benchmark considered seriously unaffordable.
Of the 25 counties where major monthly home expenses consumed the greatest share of residents’ wages, 14 were in California, four were in New York, three were in New Jersey, and two were in Hawaii.
To afford a nationally medium-priced home and keep major monthly expenses below the 28 percent of wages threshold, a buyer in the first quarter of 2026 would have had to earn $84,230 annually.
The counties with the highest wage requirement to stay below the 28 percent threshold were New York County, N.Y. ($383,532); San Mateo County, Calif. ($350,392); Santa Clara County, Calif. ($342,800); San Francisco County, Calif. ($307,860); and Marin County, Calif. ($307,681).
The counties with the lowest affordability index in the first quarter of 2026 — indicating that they were the least affordable compared to historical norms — were Lackawanna County, Pa. (affordability index of 59); Jackson County, Miss. (60); Gwinnett County, Ga. (63); Strafford County, N.H. (65); and Cass County, Mo. (65).
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