{
  "dataset": "income-needed-to-buy-a-house",
  "title": "Income needed to buy the median new home in the United States",
  "asOf": "2026-10-01",
  "refreshSeconds": 21600,
  "answer": {
    "price": 410700,
    "ratePct": 7.28,
    "termYears": 30,
    "downPayment": 82140,
    "downPaymentPct": 20,
    "loanAmount": 328560,
    "principalAndInterest": 2248.05,
    "propertyTax": 304.6,
    "homeownersInsurance": 162.15,
    "mortgageInsurance": 0,
    "monthlyPayment": 2714.81,
    "annualIncome": 116348.8,
    "monthlyIncome": 9695.73,
    "bindingRatio": "front-end"
  },
  "againstMedianIncome": {
    "medianHouseholdIncome": 87460,
    "medianIncomePeriod": "2025",
    "multipleOfMedianIncome": 1.3303,
    "shareOfMedianIncomePct": 37.2486,
    "frontEndPct": 28,
    "incomeGap": 28888.8,
    "priceAtMedianIncome": 304557.05,
    "priceGap": 106142.95
  },
  "lowDownPayment": {
    "downPayment": 41070,
    "downPaymentPct": 10,
    "loanAmount": 369630,
    "principalAndInterest": 2529.05,
    "propertyTax": 304.6,
    "homeownersInsurance": 162.15,
    "mortgageInsurance": 154.01,
    "monthlyPayment": 3149.82,
    "annualIncome": 134992.45,
    "monthlyIncome": 11249.37,
    "bindingRatio": "front-end"
  },
  "assumptions": {
    "downPct": 20,
    "lowDownPct": 10,
    "termYears": 30,
    "propertyTaxRatePct": 0.89,
    "pmiRatePct": 0.5,
    "insuranceAnnual": 1945.86,
    "frontEndPct": 28,
    "otherMonthlyDebts": 0
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "MSPUS",
      "label": "Median sales price of new houses sold",
      "value": 410700,
      "unit": "USD",
      "period": "Q2 2026",
      "asOf": "2026-04-01",
      "frequency": "quarterly",
      "publisher": "U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development",
      "publisherUrl": "https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/index.html",
      "seriesUrl": "https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS",
      "live": true
    },
    {
      "id": "MORTGAGE30US",
      "label": "30-year fixed rate mortgage average",
      "value": 7.28,
      "unit": "percent",
      "period": "Oct 1, 2026",
      "asOf": "2026-10-01",
      "frequency": "weekly",
      "publisher": "Freddie Mac",
      "publisherUrl": "https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms",
      "seriesUrl": "https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US",
      "live": true
    },
    {
      "id": "MEHOINUSA646N",
      "label": "Median household income in the United States",
      "value": 87460,
      "unit": "USD",
      "period": "2025",
      "asOf": "2025-01-01",
      "frequency": "annual",
      "publisher": "U.S. Census Bureau",
      "publisherUrl": "https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/income.html",
      "seriesUrl": "https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA646N",
      "live": true
    }
  ],
  "method": "Principal and interest on the price less the down payment, over the term at the Freddie Mac PMMS average, plus property tax at the national average effective rate, the measured average homeowners premium at that price, and conventional mortgage insurance while the loan is over 80% of the price — divided by the 28% front-end debt-to-income ratio. The arithmetic is incomeNeededForHome in @calcwise/finance, which is houseAffordability read the other way round.",
  "caveats": [
    "MSPUS is the median price of NEW houses sold, which is the only national median sales price the federal government publishes and the only one free to cite. New houses sell at a premium to the existing stock, so read this as the price of a newly built home rather than of the typical home on the market.",
    "Median household income is the Census CPS ASEC reading, which reports a calendar year in the September after it. It is about twenty months old the day it lands, which flatters the multiple rather than exaggerating it.",
    "No other debts are counted, so the 28% front-end ratio binds. A car or student loan payment lowers the house the same income reaches.",
    "Educational estimate, not financial advice. Nothing here is an underwriting decision."
  ],
  "citation": "Far Better Off, \"What income do you need to buy a house?\", https://farbetteroff.com/income-needed-to-buy-a-house (Q2 2026 price, Oct 1, 2026 rate).",
  "meta": {
    "source": "https://farbetteroff.com",
    "page": "https://farbetteroff.com/income-needed-to-buy-a-house",
    "docs": "https://farbetteroff.com/api/v1",
    "library": "@calcwise/finance",
    "license": "MIT — the arithmetic. The figure itself is a fact; quote it freely.",
    "disclaimer": "Educational estimate, not financial advice."
  }
}