Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year
Highest Salary Needed to Buy a Home in Alabama
What a household has to earn to buy the county's own median home under the standard 28% rule, meaning housing costs at no more than 28% of gross income, counting the full monthly bill rather than just the mortgage. These are the counties where the entry ticket is steepest.
Alabama ranked
| # | County | Income needed | Monthly to own | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shelby County | $103,500 | $2,415 | $298,700 |
| 2 | Baldwin County | $98,500 | $2,296 | $287,000 |
| 3 | Madison County | $93,500 | $2,181 | $267,800 |
| 4 | Limestone County | $88,500 | $2,069 | $255,100 |
| 5 | Lee County | $85,500 | $1,990 | $238,700 |
| 6 | Tuscaloosa County | $82,500 | $1,920 | $233,700 |
| 7 | Jefferson County | $82,000 | $1,909 | $224,900 |
| 8 | St. Clair County | $77,500 | $1,809 | $218,500 |
| 9 | Elmore County | $75,500 | $1,767 | $213,600 |
| 10 | Autauga County | $71,000 | $1,659 | $197,900 |
| 11 | Morgan County | $70,000 | $1,634 | $193,000 |
| 12 | Lauderdale County | $68,000 | $1,587 | $185,800 |
| 13 | Marshall County | $67,500 | $1,571 | $183,400 |
| 14 | Randolph County | $66,500 | $1,551 | $184,000 |
| 15 | Coffee County | $66,000 | $1,543 | $180,300 |
| 16 | Mobile County | $66,000 | $1,537 | $176,600 |
| 17 | Cullman County | $65,500 | $1,531 | $180,500 |
| 18 | Houston County | $65,000 | $1,520 | $178,000 |
| 19 | Blount County | $62,500 | $1,461 | $169,700 |
| 20 | Cherokee County | $62,000 | $1,446 | $165,900 |
| 21 | Colbert County | $60,500 | $1,413 | $161,600 |
| 22 | Etowah County | $60,000 | $1,405 | $160,600 |
| 23 | Montgomery County | $60,000 | $1,403 | $160,100 |
| 24 | Russell County | $58,000 | $1,352 | $152,300 |
| 25 | Calhoun County | $57,000 | $1,331 | $149,500 |
| 26 | Lawrence County | $57,000 | $1,327 | $150,700 |
| 27 | Washington County | $57,000 | $1,333 | $152,800 |
| 28 | Henry County | $56,000 | $1,311 | $147,800 |
| 29 | Pike County | $56,000 | $1,310 | $149,000 |
| 30 | Jackson County | $55,500 | $1,292 | $145,800 |
| 31 | Cleburne County | $55,000 | $1,279 | $144,200 |
| 32 | Tallapoosa County | $55,000 | $1,285 | $144,800 |
| 33 | Chilton County | $54,500 | $1,271 | $142,300 |
| 34 | Clay County | $54,500 | $1,274 | $144,700 |
| 35 | Covington County | $54,000 | $1,262 | $142,500 |
| 36 | Talladega County | $53,500 | $1,243 | $137,900 |
| 37 | DeKalb County | $52,500 | $1,222 | $135,500 |
| 38 | Bibb County | $51,000 | $1,187 | $132,600 |
| 39 | Chambers County | $51,000 | $1,186 | $129,700 |
| 40 | Dale County | $50,500 | $1,176 | $129,100 |
| 41 | Walker County | $50,500 | $1,184 | $131,100 |
| 42 | Franklin County | $50,000 | $1,169 | $128,000 |
| 43 | Clarke County | $49,500 | $1,154 | $126,400 |
| 44 | Hale County | $49,500 | $1,155 | $126,300 |
| 45 | Escambia County | $48,500 | $1,137 | $122,700 |
| 46 | Pickens County | $48,500 | $1,130 | $123,300 |
| 47 | Fayette County | $48,000 | $1,115 | $121,200 |
| 48 | Geneva County | $47,500 | $1,111 | $120,200 |
| 49 | Monroe County | $46,000 | $1,073 | $114,900 |
| 50 | Coosa County | $45,000 | $1,047 | $111,800 |
| 51 | Lamar County | $45,000 | $1,048 | $112,700 |
| 52 | Barbour County | $44,500 | $1,043 | $109,900 |
| 53 | Choctaw County | $44,500 | $1,038 | $111,800 |
| 54 | Winston County | $44,500 | $1,043 | $110,500 |
| 55 | Crenshaw County | $44,000 | $1,027 | $108,400 |
| 56 | Marengo County | $42,500 | $997 | $103,400 |
| 57 | Marion County | $42,500 | $996 | $104,300 |
| 58 | Conecuh County | $42,000 | $977 | $101,300 |
| 59 | Butler County | $41,500 | $967 | $99,700 |
| 60 | Dallas County | $41,000 | $957 | $97,400 |
| 61 | Macon County | $40,500 | $950 | $95,700 |
| 62 | Greene County | $38,000 | $883 | $86,400 |
| 63 | Perry County | $38,000 | $884 | $87,700 |
| 64 | Wilcox County | $37,000 | $858 | $84,200 |
| 65 | Sumter County | $36,500 | $857 | $84,100 |
| 66 | Lowndes County | $36,000 | $835 | $80,600 |
| 67 | Bullock County | $35,500 | $825 | $79,400 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Highest Salary Needed to Buy a Home across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Alabama