Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year
Lowest Salary Needed to Buy a Home in America
The counties where an ordinary income still buys the median home outright by the 28% rule, with the whole monthly bill counted: tax, insurance, utilities and maintenance included, not just the loan payment.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
Top 100
| # | County | State | Income needed | Monthly to own | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oglala Lakota County | SD | $23,000 | $533 | $45,600 |
| 2 | McDowell County | WV | $24,500 | $572 | $49,200 |
| 3 | Todd County | SD | $25,500 | $598 | $45,200 |
| 4 | Cottle County | TX | $28,000 | $657 | $54,100 |
| 5 | Stewart County | GA | $28,500 | $662 | $53,000 |
| 6 | Alexander County | IL | $28,500 | $663 | $58,700 |
| 7 | Breathitt County | KY | $28,500 | $666 | $61,800 |
| 8 | Stonewall County | TX | $28,500 | $671 | $54,700 |
| 9 | Allendale County | SC | $29,000 | $677 | $61,600 |
| 10 | Wolfe County | KY | $29,500 | $685 | $66,400 |
| 11 | Cochran County | TX | $29,500 | $686 | $57,700 |
| 12 | Hudspeth County | TX | $29,500 | $683 | $57,400 |
| 13 | Kusilvak Census Area | AK | $30,000 | $705 | $72,700 |
| 14 | Apache County | AZ | $30,500 | $706 | $68,500 |
| 15 | Chautauqua County | KS | $30,500 | $708 | $63,300 |
| 16 | Comanche County | KS | $30,500 | $716 | $59,900 |
| 17 | Elk County | KS | $30,500 | $709 | $60,900 |
| 18 | Mellette County | SD | $30,500 | $710 | $63,000 |
| 19 | Jewell County | KS | $31,000 | $718 | $62,100 |
| 20 | Letcher County | KY | $31,500 | $734 | $70,500 |
| 21 | Quay County | NM | $31,500 | $740 | $82,200 |
| 22 | Knott County | KY | $32,000 | $751 | $74,600 |
| 23 | Leslie County | KY | $32,000 | $747 | $74,100 |
| 24 | McKinley County | NM | $32,000 | $746 | $72,100 |
| 25 | Dickens County | TX | $32,000 | $751 | $65,000 |
| 26 | Willacy County | TX | $32,000 | $746 | $60,800 |
| 27 | Lafayette County | AR | $32,500 | $757 | $74,600 |
| 28 | Stanton County | KS | $32,500 | $762 | $64,200 |
| 29 | Harlan County | KY | $32,500 | $757 | $73,100 |
| 30 | Harding County | NM | $32,500 | $753 | $86,500 |
| 31 | Marlboro County | SC | $32,500 | $756 | $74,500 |
| 32 | Webster County | WV | $32,500 | $763 | $78,000 |
| 33 | Phillips County | AR | $33,000 | $774 | $76,200 |
| 34 | Wheeler County | GA | $33,000 | $773 | $74,600 |
| 35 | Wilcox County | GA | $33,000 | $767 | $71,200 |
| 36 | Edwards County | KS | $33,000 | $765 | $70,500 |
| 37 | McCreary County | KY | $33,000 | $769 | $77,000 |
| 38 | Tillman County | OK | $33,000 | $765 | $71,900 |
| 39 | Wyoming County | WV | $33,000 | $769 | $78,400 |
| 40 | Lee County | AR | $33,500 | $778 | $77,900 |
| 41 | Pulaski County | IL | $33,500 | $781 | $81,000 |
| 42 | Fulton County | KY | $33,500 | $776 | $78,100 |
| 43 | Quitman County | MS | $33,500 | $782 | $68,600 |
| 44 | Corson County | SD | $33,500 | $782 | $73,800 |
| 45 | Atkinson County | GA | $34,000 | $793 | $76,300 |
| 46 | Taliaferro County | GA | $34,000 | $792 | $73,100 |
| 47 | Owsley County | KY | $34,000 | $788 | $79,900 |
| 48 | Pawnee County | NE | $34,000 | $792 | $74,800 |
| 49 | Harmon County | OK | $34,000 | $796 | $75,700 |
| 50 | Dewey County | SD | $34,000 | $794 | $75,400 |
| 51 | Foard County | TX | $34,000 | $791 | $71,400 |
| 52 | Knox County | TX | $34,000 | $793 | $66,800 |
| 53 | Monroe County | AR | $34,500 | $807 | $82,200 |
| 54 | Tensas Parish | LA | $34,500 | $806 | $80,300 |
| 55 | Benson County | ND | $34,500 | $810 | $83,100 |
| 56 | McIntosh County | ND | $34,500 | $804 | $80,300 |
| 57 | Jefferson County | OK | $34,500 | $808 | $77,500 |
| 58 | Covington city | VA | $34,500 | $801 | $80,200 |
| 59 | Gilmer County | WV | $34,500 | $808 | $83,300 |
| 60 | Bullock County | AL | $35,000 | $814 | $79,400 |
| 61 | Warren County | GA | $35,000 | $815 | $78,000 |
| 62 | Republic County | KS | $35,000 | $816 | $76,000 |
| 63 | Bell County | KY | $35,000 | $813 | $83,000 |
| 64 | Lee County | KY | $35,000 | $813 | $82,100 |
| 65 | Sioux County | ND | $35,000 | $812 | $87,400 |
| 66 | Grant County | OK | $35,000 | $819 | $79,500 |
| 67 | Dillon County | SC | $35,000 | $816 | $84,400 |
| 68 | Mingo County | WV | $35,000 | $819 | $85,600 |
| 69 | Lowndes County | AL | $35,500 | $824 | $80,600 |
| 70 | Appling County | GA | $35,500 | $827 | $81,400 |
| 71 | Jenkins County | GA | $35,500 | $832 | $81,100 |
| 72 | Harper County | KS | $35,500 | $832 | $77,300 |
| 73 | Woodson County | KS | $35,500 | $832 | $77,100 |
| 74 | Lewis County | KY | $35,500 | $828 | $86,100 |
| 75 | Martin County | KY | $35,500 | $828 | $84,900 |
| 76 | Claiborne Parish | LA | $35,500 | $827 | $82,400 |
| 77 | Holmes County | MS | $35,500 | $828 | $76,500 |
| 78 | Marion County | SC | $35,500 | $829 | $86,800 |
| 79 | McPherson County | SD | $35,500 | $831 | $78,400 |
| 80 | Hardeman County | TX | $35,500 | $830 | $76,500 |
| 81 | Lamb County | TX | $35,500 | $831 | $76,600 |
| 82 | Sumter County | AL | $36,000 | $844 | $84,100 |
| 83 | Nevada County | AR | $36,000 | $835 | $85,700 |
| 84 | Taylor County | GA | $36,000 | $841 | $82,900 |
| 85 | Decatur County | KS | $36,000 | $842 | $78,500 |
| 86 | Clay County | KY | $36,000 | $839 | $87,300 |
| 87 | Claiborne County | MS | $36,000 | $839 | $80,800 |
| 88 | Wibaux County | MT | $36,000 | $840 | $92,300 |
| 89 | Grant County | ND | $36,000 | $837 | $85,800 |
| 90 | Edwards County | TX | $36,000 | $835 | $78,300 |
| 91 | Wilcox County | AL | $36,500 | $846 | $84,200 |
| 92 | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | AK | $36,500 | $847 | $87,800 |
| 93 | Clay County | AR | $36,500 | $851 | $88,100 |
| 94 | Jackson County | AR | $36,500 | $848 | $87,300 |
| 95 | Prairie County | AR | $36,500 | $854 | $87,500 |
| 96 | St. Francis County | AR | $36,500 | $850 | $87,700 |
| 97 | Calhoun County | GA | $36,500 | $854 | $82,200 |
| 98 | Gallatin County | IL | $36,500 | $856 | $84,700 |
| 99 | Rush County | KS | $36,500 | $855 | $79,300 |
| 100 | Magoffin County | KY | $36,500 | $850 | $88,300 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 6.76%. 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.
Lowest Salary Needed to Buy a Home by state
The same ranking within a single state.
Alabama67Alaska26Arizona15Arkansas75California58Colorado64Florida67Georgia159Idaho44Illinois102Indiana92Iowa99Kansas105Kentucky120Louisiana64Maine16Maryland24Massachusetts14Michigan83Minnesota87Mississippi82Missouri115Montana56Nebraska93Nevada16New Jersey21New Mexico33New York62North Carolina100North Dakota53Ohio88Oklahoma77Oregon36Pennsylvania67South Carolina46South Dakota65Tennessee95Texas250Utah29Vermont14Virginia133Washington39West Virginia55Wisconsin72Wyoming23