What income do you need to buy a $300,000 house?
The short answer
A $300,000 house needs a household income of roughly $70,734 to $90,635 a year, depending on the state. Principal and interest is $1,541 a month everywhere — that part does not move. Property tax and insurance are what swing the total, from $1,650 a month in Hawaii to $2,115 in New Jersey.
That is a spread of $464 a month on the same house at the same rate, or $5,572 a year. It is the reason a single national affordability number is close to useless.
- Principal & interest
- $1,541
- Typical total
- $1,850
- Income needed
- $79,300
- State spread
- $464/mo
$300,000 buys a median home in roughly twenty states and nothing at all in about ten. It is the clearest illustration on this site that a national median price is close to meaningless: the same budget is a comfortable three-bedroom in Ohio and does not exist in California, Washington or Massachusetts.
At this price the tax and insurance spread is already wider than most buyers expect. The gap between the cheapest state to carry a $300,000 house and the most expensive runs to several hundred dollars a month — more than the difference a full percentage point of interest rate would make on the same loan.
Income needed for a $300,000 house, by state
Every row is the same house and the same loan. Only the property tax rate and the insurance market change. Income is what it takes to keep housing at the 28% front-end ratio lenders use.
| State | Tax rate | Tax/mo | Insurance/mo | Total/mo | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 1.88% | $470 | $104 | $2,115 | $90,635 |
| Illinois | 1.88% | $470 | $91 | $2,102 | $90,079 |
| Connecticut | 1.54% | $385 | $104 | $2,029 | $86,975 |
| Texas | 1.40% | $350 | $133 | $2,024 | $86,739 |
| Nebraska | 1.44% | $360 | $101 | $2,001 | $85,771 |
| New Hampshire | 1.50% | $375 | $84 | $2,000 | $85,713 |
| Kansas | 1.21% | $302 | $129 | $1,973 | $84,538 |
| Vermont | 1.51% | $378 | $53 | $1,971 | $84,492 |
| Ohio | 1.36% | $340 | $90 | $1,971 | $84,451 |
| Wisconsin | 1.32% | $330 | $91 | $1,962 | $84,079 |
| Iowa | 1.33% | $332 | $87 | $1,960 | $84,021 |
| New York | 1.30% | $325 | $89 | $1,955 | $83,786 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.26% | $315 | $96 | $1,952 | $83,637 |
| Florida | 0.78% | $195 | $189 | $1,925 | $82,492 |
| Michigan | 1.19% | $298 | $86 | $1,924 | $82,476 |
| Rhode Island | 1.12% | $280 | $95 | $1,915 | $82,083 |
| South Dakota | 1.00% | $250 | $93 | $1,884 | $80,748 |
| Oklahoma | 0.79% | $198 | $145 | $1,884 | $80,729 |
| Minnesota | 1.00% | $250 | $92 | $1,883 | $80,699 |
| Louisiana | 0.55% | $138 | $201 | $1,879 | $80,546 |
| Massachusetts | 1.00% | $250 | $81 | $1,872 | $80,215 |
| Missouri | 0.89% | $222 | $108 | $1,871 | $80,186 |
| North Dakota | 0.92% | $230 | $95 | $1,865 | $79,940 |
| Maine | 0.98% | $245 | $74 | $1,860 | $79,711 |
| Alaska | 0.94% | $235 | $84 | $1,860 | $79,708 |
| Maryland | 0.92% | $230 | $80 | $1,850 | $79,300 |
| Georgia | 0.79% | $198 | $97 | $1,835 | $78,649 |
| Kentucky | 0.74% | $185 | $101 | $1,826 | $78,271 |
| Mississippi | 0.58% | $145 | $140 | $1,826 | $78,238 |
| Virginia | 0.78% | $195 | $87 | $1,823 | $78,138 |
| Indiana | 0.76% | $190 | $90 | $1,821 | $78,023 |
| Oregon | 0.81% | $202 | $73 | $1,817 | $77,859 |
| Arkansas | 0.56% | $140 | $131 | $1,812 | $77,641 |
| Washington | 0.75% | $188 | $73 | $1,801 | $77,202 |
| North Carolina | 0.66% | $165 | $90 | $1,796 | $76,959 |
| California | 0.70% | $175 | $72 | $1,787 | $76,598 |
| Tennessee | 0.52% | $130 | $105 | $1,776 | $76,109 |
| New Mexico | 0.63% | $158 | $75 | $1,773 | $76,003 |
| West Virginia | 0.51% | $128 | $102 | $1,770 | $75,859 |
| Montana | 0.61% | $153 | $71 | $1,765 | $75,622 |
| South Carolina | 0.49% | $122 | $96 | $1,759 | $75,382 |
| Wyoming | 0.53% | $132 | $81 | $1,754 | $75,179 |
| Alabama | 0.37% | $92 | $119 | $1,752 | $75,076 |
| District of Columbia | 0.56% | $140 | $65 | $1,746 | $74,823 |
| Colorado | 0.50% | $125 | $79 | $1,745 | $74,775 |
| Delaware | 0.54% | $135 | $62 | $1,737 | $74,453 |
| Arizona | 0.48% | $120 | $75 | $1,735 | $74,368 |
| Nevada | 0.50% | $125 | $67 | $1,733 | $74,275 |
| Idaho | 0.50% | $125 | $62 | $1,727 | $74,027 |
| Utah | 0.48% | $120 | $54 | $1,714 | $73,470 |
| Hawaii | 0.29% | $72 | $37 | $1,650 | $70,734 |
What if you put down less than 20%?
At the national-median tax and insurance load, a smaller down payment raises the payment twice over — a bigger loan, and mortgage insurance on top of it.
| Down | Cash at closing | Loan | P&I | PMI | Total/mo | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5% down | $10,500 | $289,500 | $1,858 | $229 | $2,397 | $102,741 |
| 5% down | $15,000 | $285,000 | $1,830 | $166 | $2,305 | $98,806 |
| 10% down | $30,000 | $270,000 | $1,733 | $104 | $2,146 | $91,989 |
| 20% down | $60,000 | $240,000 | $1,541 | — | $1,850 | $79,300 |
These are state averages. Put in an actual address, the date it closed and the price paid, and the calculator works out that home's payment, its mortgage-insurance dates and the equity behind it.