Enter your ZIP code to see its median income, median home value, and how affordable a typical home is there.

Anyone who has recently explored buying a home in the US knows it's not a cheap endeavor. The median salary for the typical American homebuyer has risen to roughly $104K, up from $88K two years ago. This data visualization breaks down the household income required to buy a median-priced home in 50 major US metro areas. Learn more here.

Real estate brokerage Clever evaluated home prices using Zillow and listed the top 10 priciest ZIP codes. Eight of the top 10 regions are located in California. Check out the full list here.

After adjusting for inflation, housing costs have more than doubled since 1965. And based on average incomes, buyers are spending more than five times their income for a home versus buyers in 1965, who typically spent less than three times their income.

In 2022, roughly 52% of US adults lived in middle-income households. This income calculator can help you determine whether or not you're one of them. Specifically, the calculator lets you enter your household income, location, and more to see where you line up in Pew's government data.

Many Gen Z homeowners have compromised on location and tightened their expenses to make buying a home possible. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

The cost of the average home insurance premium shot up 33% between 2020 and 2023 in the US, a trend mimicking heightened inflation. But beyond the cost, insurers are also pulling out of major markets like Florida and California, and millions of policies aren't being renewed as the number of $1B weather disasters continues to increase each year. Read up on the difficulties the home insurance market faces here.

In 1980, a steady middle-class job paid roughly $13,000 to $16,000 a year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That income comfortably supported a household on one paycheck. The average full-time worker today, who makes $68K per year often cannot afford to support a household without a second income.

As of 2024, the US has 621 cities where a typical home costs $1M or more. California has more million-dollar cities than any other state by a long shot, with 218. New York comes in second with 76. Want to see where other states rank? Check out this map to learn more.

A recent study showed that the price gap between renting and buying grew in 38 major US metro areas since last year. The metro areas with the smallest price gaps between renting and buying include Detroit, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.

Specifically, the median square footage of new single-family homes in the US has decreased in each of the past several years. In 2015, the typical new-construction home was about 2,467 square feet—but by 2024, that number had shrunk to 2,146 square feet.

Specifically, the Home Ownership Affordability Monitor shows a monthly measure of the median-income household's capacity to afford the median-priced home at the national level, the metro level, and more.

Some people who work low-wage jobs don't make enough money to pay for the cost of basic needs (like housing or child care) in their area of the country. Curious to see whether or not you make what's considered a "living wage" for your city or state? To find out, plug your locale into this Living Wage Calculator.

Depending on the US state you live in, the household income needed to be considered "middle class" can vary from only $36K per year to $200K per year. It's more expensive to be considered middle class in states like Massachusetts and New Jersey than it is in West Virginia or Mississippi. See these numbers in a data visualization here.

While the median household income is $84K, the typical bank account balance is $8K.

To do so, they looked at two studies: One that shows middle-class income ranges in each state, and another that determined the cost of the American dream in each state.

Americans ages 25 through 44 make more in some states than others. While Massachusetts took the top billing, Mississippi came in last place out of all 50 states at $66K per year—a roughly 87% difference. However, it's important to remember that the cost of living in many of the highest-earning states in the US is significantly higher than the cost of living in the lowest-earning states.

That's according to 2024 data from the Federal Reserve. In 1848, just 50 households had achieved a net worth of at least $1M (roughly $40M in today's dollars). Millionaires have become significantly more common due to a multitude of factors, such as price increases in securities, inflation, and rising home values.

However, the increase has been larger in some states than others. In Texas, for instance, 2023's middle-class annual incomes ranged from $50,861 to $152,584, whereas 2013 middle-class annual incomes ranged from $34.6K to $103.8K.

Over the last century, the average home size in the U.S. has skyrocketed. Here’s a look at which states have the biggest and smallest homes.

Some states had higher shares of no-income households than others: West Virginia, for instance, had a national high of 34% of households with no income. These states tend to have older populations, higher rates of disability, and lower median incomes overall. In such contexts, a larger portion of households rely on non-earned income sources or report no income during the survey period.

This map shows the annual household income needed to raise a family of four in each US state. West Virginia is the least expensive state on the map at $82K per year. These numbers were calculated based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data which factored in how annual living expenses such as housing, transportation, and groceries differ from state to state. See the map here.

The study looked at coupons for food, household items, entertainment, and clothing, as well as other expected expenses. The grocery store category offered the largest amount of savings at around $316 annually.

Since 2010, the median household income has increased by 22% on average. Montana, the state with the largest growth rate, saw a 42.9% increase, while New Mexico saw the lowest income growth rate at 2.3%.

US homes are growing larger and more luxurious, with Census Bureau data revealing a rise in four-bedroom houses equipped with air conditioning. Experts say the trend of elevated home prices is expected to continue.

WalletHub compared 22 major metropolitan areas to see how inflation has risen in the last year using the Consumer Price Index, which describes the average cost of a basket of goods. As of April 2024, Honolulu, Hawaii, clocked in with the greatest year-over-year change in prices, with inflation close to 5%. See the full list here.

The estimated cost of the American Dream—including buying a house, yearly vacations, retiring, raising two children, getting married, and more—is $4.4M, according to recent data from Investopedia. This illustrated graphic shows the estimated cost of the American dream per household over the course of their lifetime. See it here.

The median salary for full-time workers in the United States was roughly $49.5K in 2024. An interactive chart details how salaries differ by occupation.

According to a 2023 survey, 52% of Americans said they would need to earn at least $100,000 a year to be financially comfortable. However, for a family of four, that's not enough money to achieve the American dream (having a degree of economic security) in any of the 50 states.

After tax, a $100K salary leaves you between $70K and $80K, depending on where you live. The value of what's left over varies significantly from city to city, with considerations like rent and grocery costs impacting how much money you lose.

Since 2022, fewer Americans report feeling worse off financially, moving from 35% in 2022 to 28% in 2025. Likewise, the number of Americans who reported feeling better about the economy is up 4% from 2022. More than 90% of Americans cite price increases as their biggest financial concern.

As of 2022, 37.9 million people in the US were living in poverty. But those people aren't evenly distributed among the 50 states. Some states and regions of the country are more impoverished than others. For instance, US poverty rates are relatively higher in the South than they are in the North. See the state-by-state breakdown with this map.

Local governments use zoning to regulate land use. About 75% of residentially zoned land in American cities is designated for single-family homes only—a restriction that some experts blame for increasing housing costs and reducing affordability.

Hawaii has the second-highest median rent in the US at roughly $1,942 per month, including utilities. That's as of 2024, based on data from the US Census Bureau.

For instance, as of 2026, Gen Zers are considered upper class in lower-cost-of-living areas when they start making around $110K per year. In areas with a higher cost of living, they're considered upper class once they make $130K to $150K or more per year.

Annual income largely determines homeownership. In the US, 72% of people in management roles own a home, but educators, who on average earn much less than those working in business, have the second-highest rate of homeownership.

Discover data about each generation’s income in the US. Generation X currently holds the title of highest earners, with notable wealth for those living in Maryland. Find out which groups tend to succeed and why, while seeing where you stand in comparison.

The Milliman Medical Index tracks the real cost of health insurance for people covered through employer-sponsored plans. In 2025, healthcare for a family of four cost an average of $35K, including employer contributions, out-of-pocket expenses, premiums, and offset wages.

In 2020, the average cost of a wedding in the US was $19K—but by 2024, it had surged to more than $33K.

You've probably heard that the price of groceries has gone up across the US in the past few years—but do you know what the average American household is currently paying for their weekly grocery bill? That answer differs state-by-state: For instance, households in Alaska and Hawaii have the largest average weekly grocery bills at $329 and $334, respectively, partly due to shipping costs. See a map showing the averages in each state here.

One-third of American households are rented. The other two-thirds are owned or in the process of becoming owned, according to 2022 data from the American Community Survey. While most people rent in their younger years, homeownership rates tend to fluctuate based on age. To see home ownership and renter rates charted by age, check out these charts.

As a leader in the global economy, Silicon Valley's growth is closely watched around the world. In 2025, companies in the region posted $92B in venture capital deals and created 23,000 new patents. The average wage in the region is $189K, which is much higher than the national average, but the median home price sits around $2.25M—which calls the sustainability of the region's living standards into question.