Housing Affordability
A scoring factor that compares a city's typical home value to the national benchmark — lower values score higher.
Housing Affordability is the largest factor in the WhereAtHome Score, combining two sub-factors at 20% weight each (40% total):
- Absolute Affordability: How the city's ZHVI compares to the national typical home value. Cities with lower home values relative to the national benchmark score higher.
- Income-to-Housing Ratio: Local median household income divided by local home value, compared to the national ratio. Higher ratios (housing is more affordable relative to what people earn locally) score higher.
The national benchmarks are sourced from the us-national row and update automatically when the data pipeline refreshes.
Current U.S. national value: $410,800 (2025)