DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado home takes a bigger chunk of a monthly paycheck than almost any state in the U.S. — even though the paychecks in Colorado are larger than most places.
Today’s Homeowner released an analysis of how much of the typical paycheck has to go toward the typical home in each U.S. state. The analysis compared the median home sale prices from Zillow to the median monthly income in each state, as recorded in the 2021 U.S. Census.
Homes in the western U.S. are the nation’s most costly to a household across the board, while the Midwest and South were the easiest on household finances.
Colorado sits near the top of the list. It takes the eighth-highest portion of the median income to pay a mortgage on a median-priced home.
It takes 41% of the median Colorado income to make the monthly mortgage on the median-priced home. At $575,373, Colorado is one of only eight states in which the median-priced home is more than half a million dollars.
Hawaii has the highest housing payment toll, with 62% of the median income needed to pay the median mortgage. California, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Utah and Idaho are next. By contrast, it takes under 17% of the median income to pay a mortgage in West Virginia.
It takes more than usual to pay for a Colorado home, even though the incomes are larger in Colorado.
Colorado has the ninth-highest monthly income at $6,854.