New Hampshire Counties With Most Affordable Home Prices: New Data

NEW HAMPSHIRE — Homeownership, once equated with achieving the American Dream, is farther out of reach for many Granite Staters than it has been in a decade, according to a new analysis.

NBC News conducted the analysis and 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 estimates the difference between an area’s median household income and payments on a median-priced home.

According to NBC, 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 the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2023 before-tax median individual income in New Hampshire was just shy of $50,000. The NBC analysis suggests an individual with an income at this level could not afford a home in New Hampshire. A single person from Coos County should be able to afford a home if they can find one and earn $57,000.

Two-income families have a better chance of finding a home they can afford.

Households with before-tax earnings of $110,000 should afford homes in most of the state. All but Carroll and Rockingham counties would be considered affordable.

NBC noted widespread geographical differences in the affordability gap. A median salary 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 household 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.