Housing: The salary you would have to earn to buy a home in 19 major US cities

In the market for a home? Read on

Can you guess which city is the most expensive? (Getty)

In the market for a home? Mortgage site HSH.com has updated its estimate of how much annual income a household would need to buy a home in major metropolitan areas in the US, according to fourth-quarter 2015 data.

Thanks to lower mortgage rates and home prices, houses were more affordable in nearly every metro area measured than they had been in the previous quarter. The National Association of Realtors told HSH.com that it doesn't expect this trend to continue. The site also calculated how it would change the salary needed to buy a home if a buyer were to put 10 per cent down instead of the recommended 20 per cent. No matter where you are, it's more expensive — you can visit HSH.com to see both numbers.

The site looked at median home prices from the National Association of Realtors. It took into account interest rates for common 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and property taxes and insurance costs to figure out how much money it would take to pay a median-priced home's mortgage, taxes, and insurance in each city, and how much you'd have to earn to afford it. Salaries listed are rounded to the nearest $500.

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19. San Antonio


 You would need an average salary of $46,000 to buy a home in San Antonio
 (WestEnd61/REX Shutterstock)

Population: 1,409,000

Median Home Price: $192,100

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,096

Salary Needed to Buy: $46,000

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18. Orlando

Population: 255,483

Median Home Price: $205,000

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,115

Salary Needed to Buy: $48,000

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17. Minneapolis

Population: 407,207

Median Home Price: $223,700

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,172

Salary Needed to Buy: $50,500

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16. Philadelphia

You would need an average salary of $51,500 to buy a home in Philadelphia (Rhys Asplundh/Flickr)

Population: 1,517,628

Median Home Price: $213,700

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,204

Salary Needed to Buy: $51,500

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15. Dallas

Population: 2,518,638

Median Home Price: $206,200

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,208

Salary Needed to Buy: $52,000

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14. Houston

Population: 2,076,189

Median Home Price: $209,200

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,217

Salary Needed to Buy: $52,000

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13. Baltimore

You would need an average salary of $53,000 to buy a home in Baltimore. (Ken Stanek)

Population: 640,064

Median Home Price: $233,500

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,233

Salary Needed to Buy: $53,000

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12. Chicago

Population: 2,824,584

Median Home Price: $209,800

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,352

Salary Needed to Buy: $58,000

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11. Sacramento

Population: 479,686

Median Home Price: $294,100

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,450

Salary Needed to Buy: $62,000

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10. Miami

You would need an average salary of $63,000 to buy a home in Miami. (AFP/Getty)

Population: 417,650

Median Home Price: $286,000

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,471

Salary Needed to Buy: $63,000

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9. Portland

Population: 609,456

Median Home Price: $318,300

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,538

Salary Needed to Buy: $66,000

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8. Denver

Population: 649,495

Median Home Price: $353,500

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,596

Salary Needed to Buy: $68,500

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7. Seattle

You would need an average salary of $78,500 to buy a home in Seattle. (Getty)

Population: 652,405

Median Home Price: $385,300

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,829

Salary Needed to Buy: $78,500

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6. Washington, DC​

Population: 582,049

Median Home Price: $371,600

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,834

Salary Needed to Buy: $78,500

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5. Boston

Population: 645,966

Median Home Price: $393,600

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,940

Salary Needed to Buy: $83,000

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4. New York City

You would need an average salary of $87,000 to buy a home in New York City.

Population: 8,213,839

Median Home Price: $384,600

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $2,024

Salary Needed to Buy: $87,000

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3. Los Angeles

Population: 3,794,640

Median Home Price: $481,900

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $2,217

Salary Needed to Buy: $95,000

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2. San Diego

Population: 1,284,347

Median Home Price: $546,800

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $2,407

Salary Needed to Buy: $103,000

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1. San Francisco

You would need an average salary of $87,000 to buy a home in San Francisco. (Getty)

Population: 777,660

Median Home Price: $781,600

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $3,453

Salary Needed to Buy: $148,000

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