To Afford A Home In CT You Have To Make At Least This Much

CONNECTICUT — Home ownership, once equated with achieving the American Dream, is farther out of reach for many Connecticut residents than it has been in a decade, according to a new analysis.

NBC News, which conducted the analysis, said the affordability gap for homebuyers is nearing a 10-year high amid high home costs, interest rate hikes and a shortage in the nation’s housing supply. The affordability gap is an estimate of the difference between an area’s median income and payments on a median-priced home in that area.

A home is generally considered affordable if payments on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage don’t exceed 30 percent of pretax income, according to NBC.

In 2023, the median income for Connecticut workers was $56,130, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The NBC analysis suggests a person earning that amount of money would be not be able to afford a home in any of Connecticut's eight counties, according to NBC News.

To afford a home in the state, you would have to have a median annual income of at least $66,000, and for a home in Fairfield County, that figure would jump to at least $150,000.

According to the real estate website Redfin, the median list price for a home in Connecticut is $479,900. In Fairfield County, Redfin says the median sale price for a home is $635,000.

NBC noted widespread geographical differences in the affordability gap. A median income of $60,690 in Massachusetts — the top-paying of the states — puts affordable housing out of reach in that state. Nationally, that person could afford to buy a house in 1,618 out of the 2,801 U.S. counties.

A person in Mississippi, which has the lowest median annual income of $37,500, would only be able to afford to buy a house in 531 of 2,801 counties.

Today, a person earning the local median income would be able to afford a home in 60 percent of counties nationwide, compared with 90 percent of counties five years ago, NBC said, adding that the affordability gap is growing even in counties with lower-priced homes.

» Go to NBC and use the slider tool on the map to make your own comparisons.