IL Counties With Most Affordable Home Prices: New Data

ILLINOIS — Home ownership, once equated with achieving the American Dream, is farther out of reach for many Illinois 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 household 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.

The 2023 before-tax median wage in Illinois was $48,730 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The NBC analysis suggests a person with income at the level would be able to afford a home in most counties in central and southern Illinois. In Northern Illinois, however, most areas would be out of reach, including DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, Lake, Grundy, McHenry, Will and suburban Cook County.

Two-income families have a better chance of finding a home they can afford. Households with before-tax earnings of $87,000 and up would be able to afford homes in nearly all Chicago-area counties, according to NBC's data.

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 with the median salary in Illinois — just over $48,000 — could afford to buy a house in 1,066 of the 2,801 counties in the U.S., NBC reported. In Illinois, most counties in the Chicago area are not affordable with a household income under $75,000. Even at that level, Kane, DuPage, Lake, Kendall, McHenry and Will counties remain unaffordable, according to the data.

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.