What income do you need to buy a $600,000 house?
The short answer
A $600,000 house needs a household income of roughly $141,152 to $180,389 a year, depending on the state. Principal and interest is $3,081 a month everywhere — that part does not move. Property tax and insurance are what swing the total, from $3,294 a month in Hawaii to $4,209 in New Jersey.
That is a spread of $916 a month on the same house at the same rate, or $10,986 a year. It is the reason a single national affordability number is close to useless.
- Principal & interest
- $3,081
- Typical total
- $3,685
- Income needed
- $157,926
- State spread
- $916/mo
$600,000 is roughly the median in Colorado, Washington and Massachusetts, and roughly double the median in Ohio, Iowa and Arkansas. Buyers at this price are usually in a coastal or mountain-west metro, where the wage premium is real but rarely as large as the price premium.
Worth noting how differently the low-tax, high-price states behave here. Colorado taxes at 0.50% and Utah at 0.48%, so a $600,000 house in Denver carries less tax than a $250,000 house in Chicago. Price and tax rate have to be read together; neither number alone tells you what a house costs.
Income needed for a $600,000 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% | $940 | $188 | $4,209 | $180,389 |
| Illinois | 1.88% | $940 | $164 | $4,186 | $179,387 |
| Connecticut | 1.54% | $770 | $187 | $4,038 | $173,072 |
| Texas | 1.40% | $700 | $240 | $4,022 | $172,351 |
| New Hampshire | 1.50% | $750 | $152 | $3,983 | $170,713 |
| Nebraska | 1.44% | $720 | $181 | $3,983 | $170,690 |
| Vermont | 1.51% | $755 | $96 | $3,932 | $168,533 |
| Ohio | 1.36% | $680 | $162 | $3,923 | $168,143 |
| Kansas | 1.21% | $605 | $233 | $3,920 | $167,981 |
| Wisconsin | 1.32% | $660 | $164 | $3,906 | $167,387 |
| Iowa | 1.33% | $665 | $157 | $3,904 | $167,303 |
| New York | 1.30% | $650 | $161 | $3,892 | $166,817 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.26% | $630 | $173 | $3,884 | $166,464 |
| Michigan | 1.19% | $595 | $155 | $3,832 | $164,222 |
| Florida | 0.78% | $390 | $341 | $3,812 | $163,383 |
| Rhode Island | 1.12% | $560 | $170 | $3,812 | $163,365 |
| South Dakota | 1.00% | $500 | $168 | $3,750 | $160,706 |
| Minnesota | 1.00% | $500 | $166 | $3,748 | $160,618 |
| Oklahoma | 0.79% | $395 | $262 | $3,739 | $160,226 |
| Massachusetts | 1.00% | $500 | $146 | $3,727 | $159,745 |
| Missouri | 0.89% | $445 | $194 | $3,721 | $159,459 |
| Louisiana | 0.55% | $275 | $363 | $3,719 | $159,389 |
| North Dakota | 0.92% | $460 | $170 | $3,712 | $159,079 |
| Maine | 0.98% | $490 | $134 | $3,705 | $158,794 |
| Alaska | 0.94% | $470 | $152 | $3,703 | $158,703 |
| Maryland | 0.92% | $460 | $144 | $3,685 | $157,926 |
| Georgia | 0.79% | $395 | $175 | $3,651 | $156,477 |
| Kentucky | 0.74% | $370 | $181 | $3,633 | $155,690 |
| Virginia | 0.78% | $390 | $158 | $3,629 | $155,535 |
| Mississippi | 0.58% | $290 | $252 | $3,623 | $155,292 |
| Indiana | 0.76% | $380 | $162 | $3,623 | $155,286 |
| Oregon | 0.81% | $405 | $132 | $3,619 | $155,095 |
| Arkansas | 0.56% | $280 | $236 | $3,597 | $154,174 |
| Washington | 0.75% | $375 | $132 | $3,588 | $153,785 |
| North Carolina | 0.66% | $330 | $162 | $3,574 | $153,157 |
| California | 0.70% | $350 | $129 | $3,560 | $152,590 |
| New Mexico | 0.63% | $315 | $136 | $3,532 | $151,369 |
| Tennessee | 0.52% | $260 | $190 | $3,531 | $151,328 |
| West Virginia | 0.51% | $255 | $184 | $3,520 | $150,855 |
| Montana | 0.61% | $305 | $129 | $3,515 | $150,640 |
| South Carolina | 0.49% | $245 | $172 | $3,499 | $149,953 |
| Wyoming | 0.53% | $265 | $146 | $3,492 | $149,673 |
| Alabama | 0.37% | $185 | $214 | $3,480 | $149,149 |
| District of Columbia | 0.56% | $280 | $117 | $3,479 | $149,095 |
| Colorado | 0.50% | $250 | $142 | $3,474 | $148,880 |
| Delaware | 0.54% | $270 | $111 | $3,462 | $148,385 |
| Arizona | 0.48% | $240 | $134 | $3,456 | $148,105 |
| Nevada | 0.50% | $250 | $121 | $3,453 | $147,980 |
| Idaho | 0.50% | $250 | $111 | $3,442 | $147,532 |
| Utah | 0.48% | $240 | $97 | $3,418 | $146,486 |
| Hawaii | 0.29% | $145 | $67 | $3,294 | $141,152 |
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 | $21,000 | $579,000 | $3,717 | $458 | $4,779 | $204,808 |
| 5% down | $30,000 | $570,000 | $3,659 | $332 | $4,595 | $196,937 |
| 10% down | $60,000 | $540,000 | $3,467 | $207 | $4,277 | $183,305 |
| 20% down | $120,000 | $480,000 | $3,081 | — | $3,685 | $157,926 |
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.