How is the salary needed calculated?

With the 28/36 rule lenders use: the full monthly housing payment — principal and interest on a 30-year fixed at 6.6% with 20% down, plus the state's effective property-tax rate applied to the home's value, plus homeowners insurance — must stay under 28% of gross monthly income. Home values are Zillow's typical home value for each state as of June 2026, and tax rates are the Tax Foundation's effective rates from 2024 Census data. Working that cap backward gives the gross salary required, assuming no other monthly debt.

Why does New Jersey require more income than states with pricier homes?

Property taxes. New Jersey's effective property-tax rate is about 1.88% of home value per year — the highest in the country alongside Illinois — while Washington's is about 0.75%. That difference adds hundreds of dollars a month to the payment on a New Jersey home, so New Jersey requires a higher salary than Washington even though the typical Washington home costs more. This is why a salary table computed with real state tax rates ranks states differently than a table of home prices alone.

Is this the salary a typical household actually earns?

No — this is the income required to buy, not the income people have. The gap between the two is the affordability crunch: in 24 of the 51 jurisdictions (50 states plus DC), the required salary is six figures, which is well above most states' median household income per Census ACS data. If the required salary looks far out of reach where you live, that is real information about your market, not an error in the table.

What if I have debt, or less than 20% down?

Then your number is different from the table's. Monthly debt payments eat into the 36% back-end cap, and a smaller down payment means a larger loan plus PMI — both raise the salary required. Use the free calculator at fimanager.app/how-much-house-can-i-afford to run the same lender math on your actual income, debts, down payment and local costs. It's free, needs no signup, and your numbers never leave your browser.

2026 home values · every number sourced · same math as our free calculator

The salary you need to buy a typical house, in every state

Name: Salary needed to buy a typical home, by US state (2026)
Creator: FIManager

Arguments about housing usually trade in vibes. This table trades in the classic lender test — the 28/36 rule — applied to each state's typical home value (Zillow, June 2026) with that state's real property-tax rate (Tax Foundation) — not a national average smeared across fifty different markets.

The spread is enormous. A typical home in Hawaii takes about $200,101 of gross income; in West Virginia, about $51,549 — nearly a 4× difference. And in the middle of the pack sits Minnesota at $99,107: in the median American state, a typical house now takes a six-figure-adjacent salary. In 24 of the 51 jurisdictions, it takes six figures outright; in 6, at least $150,000.

Using real tax rates also reshuffles the board: New Jersey (1.88% — the nation's highest effective rate, tied with Illinois) requires more income than Washington despite a roughly $19,000-cheaper typical home, while Illinois itself still lands mid-table at #28 because its homes are among the cheapest anywhere. A ranking built on home prices alone gets those states wrong.

All 50 states + DC, ranked

Assumes 20% down on a 30-year fixed at 6.6%, the state's effective property-tax rate, ~$2,300/yr insurance, and no other monthly debt — full methodology below the table.

#	State	Salary needed	Typical home value	Est. monthly payment
1	Hawaii	$200,101	$836,741	$4,669
2	California	$197,424	$775,549	$4,607
3	Massachusetts	$179,582	$672,867	$4,190
4	New Jersey	$175,498	$584,681	$4,095
5	Washington	$156,479	$603,303	$3,651
6	New Hampshire	$150,738	$522,944	$3,517
7	New York	$147,799	$525,947	$3,449
8	District of Columbia	$147,484	$579,332	$3,441
9	Rhode Island	$142,121	$517,078	$3,316
10	Colorado	$136,914	$543,435	$3,195
11	Utah	$136,114	$541,692	$3,176
12	Oregon	$133,262	$504,432	$3,109
13	Connecticut	$132,986	$455,424	$3,103
14	Montana	$122,841	$476,115	$2,866
15	Idaho	$122,325	$482,199	$2,854
16	Maryland	$118,037	$436,104	$2,754
17	Vermont	$117,924	$402,017	$2,752
18	Maine	$115,924	$424,107	$2,705
19	Nevada	$114,363	$448,215	$2,668
20	Virginia	$111,861	$419,920	$2,610
21	Alaska	$109,397	$400,659	$2,553
22	Arizona	$108,047	$422,822	$2,521
23	Delaware	$106,435	$412,252	$2,483
24	Florida	$101,546	$378,126	$2,369
25	Wisconsin	$99,299	$342,279	$2,317
26	Minnesota	$99,107	$356,887	$2,313
27	Wyoming	$96,837	$372,526	$2,260
28	Illinois	$93,725	$298,871	$2,187
29	South Dakota	$91,144	$325,618	$2,127
30	Georgia	$91,109	$335,358	$2,126
31	North Carolina	$90,782	$340,430	$2,118
32	Texas	$89,712	$302,999	$2,093
33	Tennessee	$88,686	$338,769	$2,069
34	Pennsylvania	$85,847	$294,099	$2,003
35	New Mexico	$85,771	$321,186	$2,001
36	Nebraska	$85,133	$284,464	$1,986
37	North Dakota	$82,139	$293,556	$1,917
38	South Carolina	$81,360	$309,323	$1,898
39	Michigan	$78,804	$269,972	$1,839
40	Missouri	$76,318	$271,597	$1,781
41	Ohio	$75,501	$251,502	$1,762
42	Kansas	$74,493	$252,794	$1,738
43	Indiana	$72,761	$262,265	$1,698
44	Iowa	$72,501	$241,255	$1,692
45	Kentucky	$65,972	$235,363	$1,539
46	Alabama	$64,290	$241,517	$1,500
47	Oklahoma	$63,938	$225,437	$1,492
48	Arkansas	$62,857	$228,662	$1,467
49	Louisiana	$60,224	$217,968	$1,405
50	Mississippi	$55,774	$198,428	$1,301
51	West Virginia	$51,549	$182,704	$1,203

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical home value (35th-65th percentile, smoothed, seasonally adjusted), state level, June 2026 — Zillow Research public data. Tax Foundation, Property Taxes by State and County (2026 publication; 2024 Census ACS data) — median property taxes paid as a share of owner-occupied home value.

The table's income isn't your income

Your debts, your down payment, and your county's taxes all move the answer. Run the exact same lender math on your real numbers — free, no signup, and nothing you type leaves your browser.

See what you can afford →

Methodology — every assumption, named

What went into each number, what it deliberately simplifies, and where the data comes from.

The model

The lender 28/36 rule, solved backward — identical to our calculator.

For each state we take Zillow's typical home value (June 2026) and compute the full monthly payment: principal and interest on a 30-year fixed at 6.6% with 20% down (so no PMI), plus the state's effective property-tax rate applied to the home's value, plus $2,300/yr of homeowners insurance. The salary needed is the gross income at which that payment equals exactly 28% of monthly income — the front-end cap of the 28/36 rule, assuming no other monthly debt.

This is the same closed-form model behind our home-affordability calculator — our test suite feeds every state's salary back through the calculator engine and gets that state's home value out, so the article and the tool can't drift apart.

What it deliberately simplifies

Four simplifications, stated plainly — and which way each one leans.

Flat insurance. We use ~$2,300/yr everywhere; real premiums run far higher in hurricane and wildfire states (Florida, Louisiana, parts of Texas and California), so those states' true requirements are somewhat higher than shown — and lower in the cheapest-insurance states like Hawaii, where the true figure is slightly below the table's.
20% down, no PMI. Smaller down payments raise the loan and add PMI — the table is a best-case financing picture.
No other debt. Car loans, student loans, or card minimums shift buyers to the tighter 36% back-end cap and raise the salary required.
Statewide figures. ZHVI is the state's typical mid-tier home and the tax rate is a statewide median — metro areas inside a state can differ sharply in both directions.

Sources

The four inputs, each from a named public source.

Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical home value (35th-65th percentile, smoothed, seasonally adjusted), state level, June 2026 — Zillow Research public data.
Property-tax rates: Tax Foundation, Property Taxes by State and County (2026 publication; 2024 Census ACS data) — median property taxes paid as a share of owner-occupied home value.
Mortgage rate: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey / Bankrate 30-year fixed averages, mid-2026 (~6.6%).
Insurance: NerdWallet, ValuePenguin and SoFi 2025-2026 homeowners-insurance averages (~$2,300/year used as a flat national figure).

FAQ

How is the salary needed calculated?: With the 28/36 rule lenders use: the full monthly payment — principal and interest on a 30-year fixed at 6.6% with 20% down, plus the state's effective property-tax rate, plus insurance — must stay under 28% of gross monthly income. Working that cap backward gives the salary required. It's the same math as our home-affordability calculator — every row of this table round-trips through it.
Why does New Jersey require more income than states with pricier homes?: Property taxes. New Jersey's effective rate (~1.88% per year) is the nation's highest alongside Illinois, while Washington's is ~0.75%. That gap adds hundreds of dollars a month, so New Jersey demands a higher salary even though the typical Washington home costs more. It's why this table ranks states differently than a list of home prices alone.
Is this the salary a typical household actually earns?: No — this is the income required to buy, not the income people have. In 24 of the 51 jurisdictions (50 states plus DC) the required salary is six figures — well above most states' median household income per Census ACS data. If the number looks out of reach where you live, that's real information about your market, not an error.
What if I have debt, or less than 20% down?: Then your number is different from the table's. Debt eats into the 36% back-end cap, and under 20% down adds PMI — both raise the salary required. Run the same lender math on your income, debts and down payment with the free calculator — no signup, and your numbers never leave your browser.