PA Counties With Highest Home Prices: New Data

PENNSYLVANIA — Home ownership, once equated with achieving the American Dream, is farther out of reach for many Pennsylvania 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 household income in Pennsylvania was $47,430, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The NBC analysis suggests a person with income at that level would be able to afford a home in Western Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley, parts of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and parts of Northern Pennsylvania.

Two-income families have a better chance of finding a home they can afford. Households with before-tax earnings of $94,800 would be able to afford homes in most nearly all Pennsylvania counties, save for Delaware, Montgomery, and Bucks counties.

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.