Could You Afford the Same House Your Parents Bought?
Pick a place and two years, say the year your parents bought and today, and see what the same house cost, what households earned, what the mortgage payment took and how long the down payment took to save. Every state and the 50 largest metro areas, every year from 1975 to 2025.
Jump to: Compare two years · Prices, incomes or rates · Payment vs down payment · Every state and metro · Your family's house · How it works
01Then and Now: Pick a Place and Two Years
Choose the year your parents bought, or any year from 1975, and compare it with another. The house is the same in both years: today's typical home, priced in each year with the federal house price index. The table shows the two separate hurdles a buyer faces, the monthly payment and the down payment, which do not always move together.
| United States | 1995 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical home, same house (estimate) | $114,300$241,500 in 2025 dollars | $371,100 | 3.2 times |
| Median household income | $34,080$72,000 in 2025 dollars | $87,460 | 2.6 times |
| Price as a multiple of income | 3.4 | 4.2 | 27% more |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate | 7.93% | 6.60% | −1.33 points |
| Monthly payment, principal and interest | $666 | $1,896 | 2.8 times |
| Payment as a share of income | 23.5% | 26.0% | +2.5 points |
| Down payment (20%) | $22,900 | $74,200 | 3.2 times |
| Years to save it at 10% of gross income | 6.7 | 8.5 | +1.8 years |
Home values are estimates: the Census Bureau's median value of owner-occupied homes in 2025, carried to other years with the FHFA house price index. U.S. incomes are the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey medians. Payments are principal and interest on a 30-year fixed loan at the year's average Freddie Mac rate; property taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance are left out. Years to save hold the year's price and income fixed; they leave out savings already held, investment returns, rising prices and closing costs.
02What Changed: Prices, Incomes or Rates
The payment's share of income moves with three things: the price of the house, the mortgage rate and household income. From 1995 to 2025, for the U.S. as a whole, it went from 23.5% to 26.0%. Higher prices alone would have added 34.7 points, lower mortgage rates took off 4.0 and higher incomes took off 28.2. The down payment has only two of those levers, since rates do not touch it: the house cost 3.2 times as much and incomes were 2.6 times as high.
Each effect is the average of measuring it in every possible order (a Shapley split), so the three add up exactly to the change. It follows the place, years and down payment chosen in section 01.
03Two Kinds of Hard: the Payment and the Down Payment
Each dot is a year. Up means the monthly payment took a bigger share of income; right means the down payment took longer to save. Press play to watch 1975 to 2025 unfold. In 1981, with mortgage rates averaging 16.64%, the payment on the typical home took 47.5% of the median income, yet the down payment took only 7.1 years to save. In 2021 it was the other way round: rates averaged 2.96% and the payment took 16.0%, but the down payment took 8.0 years. In 2025 the payment took 26.0% and the down payment 8.5 years. Before the 2020s, the payment last took that big a share in 2007, and the down payment last took that long in 2007.
The dashed lines are the averages since 1975. Follows the place, down payment and saving rate chosen in section 01.
A high-rate year was not as bad as its first payment made it look. A fixed-rate payment stays the same while incomes rise, and incomes rose fast in the inflationary early 1980s: a payment that took 47.5% of the median income in 1981 took 36.3% of the 1986 median, and many of those buyers refinanced as rates fell. A low-rate year has no such escape hatch for the down payment, which has to be saved before the keys change hands.
The households saving for a down payment are mostly renters, and renters earn less. In 2025 the median renter household earned $57,048, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey; at 10% of that income, a 20% down payment on the typical U.S. home would take 13.0 years. In the National Association of Realtors' 2026 survey of recent buyers, the median first-time buyer was 40 years old, against the late 20s typical in the 1980s, and put down 9%.
04Every Year Since 1975
The U.S. payment share peaked at 47.5% in 1981 and bottomed at 15.1% in 2012. Measured by the down payment, the hardest year was 2006 (9.2 years). Switch measures, or pick a place in section 01 to draw it against the U.S.
Every year for the United States, in a table
| Year | Typical home | Median income | Price to income | Rate | Payment share | Years to save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $371,100 | $87,460 | 4.2 | 6.60% | 26.0% | 8.5 |
| 2024 | $360,800 | $83,160 | 4.3 | 6.72% | 26.9% | 8.7 |
| 2023 | $344,000 | $80,610 | 4.3 | 6.81% | 26.7% | 8.5 |
| 2022 | $325,400 | $74,580 | 4.4 | 5.34% | 23.4% | 8.7 |
| 2021 | $281,800 | $70,780 | 4.0 | 2.96% | 16.0% | 8.0 |
| 2020 | $252,500 | $68,010 | 3.7 | 3.11% | 15.2% | 7.4 |
| 2019 | $245,100 | $68,700 | 3.6 | 3.94% | 16.2% | 7.1 |
| 2018 | $235,300 | $63,180 | 3.7 | 4.54% | 18.2% | 7.4 |
| 2017 | $222,600 | $61,140 | 3.6 | 3.99% | 16.7% | 7.3 |
| 2016 | $211,300 | $59,040 | 3.6 | 3.65% | 15.7% | 7.2 |
| 2015 | $200,600 | $56,520 | 3.5 | 3.85% | 16.0% | 7.1 |
| 2014 | $192,100 | $53,660 | 3.6 | 4.17% | 16.7% | 7.2 |
| 2013 | $180,900 | $53,590 | 3.4 | 3.98% | 15.4% | 6.8 |
| 2012 | $174,900 | $51,020 | 3.4 | 3.66% | 15.1% | 6.9 |
| 2011 | $178,000 | $50,050 | 3.6 | 4.45% | 17.2% | 7.1 |
| 2010 | $186,300 | $49,280 | 3.8 | 4.69% | 18.8% | 7.6 |
| 2009 | $196,300 | $49,780 | 3.9 | 5.04% | 20.4% | 7.9 |
| 2008 | $212,100 | $50,300 | 4.2 | 6.03% | 24.3% | 8.4 |
| 2007 | $222,100 | $50,230 | 4.4 | 6.34% | 26.4% | 8.8 |
| 2006 | $220,800 | $48,200 | 4.6 | 6.41% | 27.5% | 9.2 |
| 2005 | $207,200 | $46,330 | 4.5 | 5.87% | 25.4% | 8.9 |
| 2004 | $184,400 | $44,330 | 4.2 | 5.84% | 23.5% | 8.3 |
| 2003 | $168,900 | $43,320 | 3.9 | 5.83% | 22.0% | 7.8 |
| 2002 | $161,600 | $42,410 | 3.8 | 6.54% | 23.2% | 7.6 |
| 2001 | $153,300 | $42,230 | 3.6 | 6.97% | 23.1% | 7.3 |
| 2000 | $143,600 | $41,990 | 3.4 | 8.05% | 24.2% | 6.8 |
| 1999 | $132,600 | $40,700 | 3.3 | 7.44% | 21.7% | 6.5 |
| 1998 | $127,100 | $38,890 | 3.3 | 6.94% | 20.7% | 6.5 |
| 1997 | $122,500 | $37,010 | 3.3 | 7.60% | 22.4% | 6.6 |
| 1996 | $118,000 | $35,490 | 3.3 | 7.81% | 23.0% | 6.6 |
| 1995 | $114,300 | $34,080 | 3.4 | 7.93% | 23.5% | 6.7 |
| 1994 | $110,200 | $32,260 | 3.4 | 8.38% | 24.9% | 6.8 |
| 1993 | $108,300 | $31,240 | 3.5 | 7.31% | 22.8% | 6.9 |
| 1992 | $108,600 | $30,640 | 3.5 | 8.39% | 25.9% | 7.1 |
| 1991 | $108,200 | $30,130 | 3.6 | 9.25% | 28.4% | 7.2 |
| 1990 | $107,300 | $29,940 | 3.6 | 10.13% | 30.5% | 7.2 |
| 1989 | $104,500 | $28,910 | 3.6 | 10.32% | 31.3% | 7.2 |
| 1988 | $96,100 | $27,230 | 3.5 | 10.34% | 30.6% | 7.1 |
| 1987 | $88,600 | $26,060 | 3.4 | 10.21% | 29.2% | 6.8 |
| 1986 | $83,000 | $24,900 | 3.3 | 10.19% | 28.5% | 6.7 |
| 1985 | $77,900 | $23,620 | 3.3 | 12.43% | 33.6% | 6.6 |
| 1984 | $73,800 | $22,420 | 3.3 | 13.88% | 37.1% | 6.6 |
| 1983 | $69,400 | $20,890 | 3.3 | 13.24% | 35.9% | 6.6 |
| 1982 | $66,500 | $20,170 | 3.3 | 16.04% | 42.7% | 6.6 |
| 1981 | $67,500 | $19,070 | 3.5 | 16.64% | 47.5% | 7.1 |
| 1980 | $63,800 | $17,710 | 3.6 | 13.74% | 40.3% | 7.2 |
| 1979 | $58,100 | $16,460 | 3.5 | 11.20% | 32.8% | 7.1 |
| 1978 | $51,000 | $15,060 | 3.4 | 9.64% | 27.7% | 6.8 |
| 1977 | $43,900 | $13,570 | 3.2 | 8.85% | 24.7% | 6.5 |
| 1976 | $37,800 | $12,690 | 3.0 | 8.87% | 22.7% | 6.0 |
| 1975 | $35,000 | $11,800 | 3.0 | 9.05% | 23.0% | 5.9 |
05Every State and Metro, Then and Now
How the 50 largest metro areas and every state compare, using the two years chosen in section 01. Among the metros, the typical home cost the most relative to local incomes in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, at 9.7 times the median household income in 2025, and the least in Pittsburgh, PA, at 3.1. Since 1995 the ratio rose the most in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, from 3.0 to 6.3. Click a column heading to sort.
| Place | Price to income 1995 | 2025 | Payment share 1995 | 2025 | Years to save 1995 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 6.2* | 9.7 | 43.2% | 59.2% | 12.4 | 19.3 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 4.8* | 9.2 | 33.9% | 56.7% | 9.7 | 18.5 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 5.8* | 8.5 | 40.8% | 51.9% | 11.7 | 16.9 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 4.7* | 8.4 | 32.7% | 51.3% | 9.3 | 16.7 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 4.2* | 6.8 | 29.4% | 41.5% | 8.4 | 13.5 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 4.1* | 6.4 | 28.9% | 39.4% | 8.3 | 12.8 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 3.0* | 6.3 | 21.1% | 38.7% | 6.0 | 12.6 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 3.2* | 6.2 | 22.7% | 37.9% | 6.5 | 12.4 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 3.9* | 6.0 | 27.6% | 36.9% | 7.9 | 12.0 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 3.6* | 5.8 | 25.3% | 35.7% | 7.2 | 11.6 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 3.9* | 5.8 | 27.2% | 35.6% | 7.8 | 11.6 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 3.8* | 5.8 | 26.9% | 35.4% | 7.7 | 11.5 |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | 3.9* | 5.7 | 27.0% | 35.1% | 7.7 | 11.5 |
| Fresno, CA | 3.5* | 5.6 | 24.8% | 34.2% | 7.1 | 11.1 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | 3.4* | 5.5 | 24.0% | 33.8% | 6.9 | 11.0 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 3.5* | 5.3 | 24.2% | 32.8% | 6.9 | 10.7 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 2.8* | 5.1 | 19.9% | 31.3% | 5.7 | 10.2 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | 3.2* | 5.0 | 22.4% | 30.8% | 6.4 | 10.0 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 2.8* | 4.8 | 19.6% | 29.6% | 5.6 | 9.7 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 3.3* | 4.7 | 22.8% | 28.6% | 6.5 | 9.3 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 3.4* | 4.7 | 23.5% | 28.6% | 6.7 | 9.3 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 2.4* | 4.6 | 17.0% | 28.4% | 4.8 | 9.3 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | 3.5* | 4.6 | 24.8% | 28.1% | 7.1 | 9.2 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 2.8* | 4.5 | 19.8% | 27.5% | 5.7 | 9.0 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 2.6* | 4.4 | 18.1% | 27.3% | 5.2 | 8.9 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 3.4* | 4.4 | 23.9% | 27.1% | 6.8 | 8.9 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 3.1* | 4.3 | 21.5% | 26.6% | 6.1 | 8.7 |
| Richmond, VA | 3.1* | 4.3 | 21.3% | 26.4% | 6.1 | 8.6 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 3.1* | 4.3 | 21.8% | 26.3% | 6.2 | 8.6 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 2.8* | 4.1 | 19.7% | 25.4% | 5.6 | 8.3 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 3.2* | 4.1 | 22.5% | 25.4% | 6.4 | 8.3 |
| Columbus, OH | 3.1* | 4.1 | 21.5% | 25.4% | 6.2 | 8.3 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 3.4* | 4.1 | 23.8% | 25.1% | 6.8 | 8.2 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | - | 4.0 | - | 24.3% | - | 7.9 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 3.6* | 4.0 | 25.2% | 24.3% | 7.2 | 7.9 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 2.7* | 3.9 | 19.1% | 24.1% | 5.5 | 7.9 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 2.9* | 3.9 | 20.3% | 23.8% | 5.8 | 7.8 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 2.9* | 3.8 | 20.0% | 23.4% | 5.7 | 7.6 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 2.5* | 3.8 | 17.7% | 23.2% | 5.1 | 7.6 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 2.7* | 3.8 | 18.9% | 23.2% | 5.4 | 7.6 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 3.0* | 3.8 | 20.8% | 23.1% | 5.9 | 7.5 |
| Birmingham, AL | 3.5* | 3.7 | 24.3% | 22.9% | 6.9 | 7.5 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 3.5* | 3.7 | 24.2% | 22.7% | 6.9 | 7.4 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 3.2* | 3.6 | 22.2% | 22.3% | 6.3 | 7.3 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 2.9* | 3.6 | 20.1% | 22.3% | 5.8 | 7.3 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 2.7* | 3.6 | 19.0% | 22.0% | 5.4 | 7.2 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 3.2* | 3.6 | 22.1% | 21.8% | 6.3 | 7.1 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 2.8* | 3.4 | 19.7% | 20.8% | 5.6 | 6.8 |
| Cleveland, OH | 3.1* | 3.4 | 21.9% | 20.6% | 6.3 | 6.7 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 2.8* | 3.1 | 19.3% | 18.8% | 5.5 | 6.1 |
* Income is an estimate for years before the American Community Survey (2005): the U.S. median carried by the area's per-person income relative to the nation, from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Metro areas are the July 2023 Census definitions; FHFA indexes follow those same areas back in time. Mortgage rates are the national average everywhere. 20% down and saving 10% of income unless changed in section 01.
06Your Family's House
Enter what your parents paid, or what you paid, and the year. The page carries that house forward with the index for the place you pick, then asks what it would take to buy it again in 2025, the latest full year of data, at that year's average rate, with a line for the latest weekly rate as well. If you know the household income that year, add it; otherwise it uses the median.
This calculator needs JavaScript. The tables above show the same comparison for the typical home.
The price is carried forward with the FHFA index for the place chosen, so it is what a house that followed the local market would be worth, not an appraisal of any one house. Uses the down payment and saving rate chosen in section 01.
07The Same House, or the Typical House of the Day?
There are two ways to ask what a house cost in the past. One is the median value of the homes that existed then; the other is what today's typical home was worth then. This page uses the second, because the homes of 1995 were not the homes of today: new houses have grown larger and better equipped, and the index follows homes that sold more than once, which strips out most of the effect of which homes happened to sell in a given year. It is not perfect: renovations, wear and the mix of homes that resell still creep in. The dots are the Census Bureau's medians, from the census of each decade and, since 2005, the American Community Survey. Carried back to 1980, today's typical U.S. home comes out at $63,800; the 1980 census put the median value of owner-occupied homes at $47,200. For 2000 the two are $143,600 and $119,600.
Census medians: owner-occupied homes. The 1940-2000 census figures cover single-family homes on less than 10 acres without a business on the property; the American Community Survey covers all owner-occupied homes. Follows the place chosen in section 01 (census-year figures are published for the U.S. and states).
08Fifty Years of Buying a House
In the late 1970s inflation pushed up wages and house prices together, and mortgage rates followed inflation up. They peaked in 1981, when Freddie Mac's weekly survey reached 18.63% in the week of October 9, 1981. Houses were cheaper next to incomes than they are now: the typical home cost 3.5 times the median income in 1981, against 4.2 in 2025. But the payment took 47.5% of income, the highest share on this page.
From the mid-1980s to 2000 rates came down slowly and prices rose roughly in line with incomes (84% and 78% from 1985 to 2000), so the payment got easier: 33.6% of income in 1985, 24.2% in 2000. The 2000s were different. Prices pulled away from incomes, reaching 4.6 times income in 2006, while easy lending let many buyers put little down or stretch the payment. Then prices fell: by the FHFA index the national typical home lost 21% of its value from 2007 to 2012. With prices down and rates low after the financial crisis, the payment on the typical home took a smaller share of income in 2012 (15.1%) than in any other year on this page.
The pandemic years pulled the two hurdles apart. The 30-year rate hit a record low of 2.65% in the week of January 7, 2021, and prices jumped: the typical home rose 15% from 2019 to 2021. Then the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in March 2022, and mortgage rates more than doubled, reaching 7.79% in the week of October 26, 2023. Prices did not fall back as they had after 2007. In 2025 both the payment and the down payment were above their averages since 1975, which had happened before the 2020s only in 2005 to 2007. So far in 2026, through November 5, 2026, the 30-year rate has averaged 6.53% (latest 7.18%), against 6.60% in 2025.
09How This Page Works
The house. For each place, the starting point is the Census Bureau's median value of owner-occupied homes in 2025, from the American Community Survey. That value is carried to every other year with the Federal Housing Finance Agency's annual all-transactions house price index for the place, which measures price changes on the same houses through repeat sales and refinance appraisals of mortgages bought or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. So every dollar figure for a home is an estimate for a hypothetical home that followed the area's index, starting from today's typical value. FHFA describes these annual indexes as developmental. Owner estimates, which the Census median is built on, run somewhat above sale prices, and the FHFA index leaves out the most expensive homes, financed with jumbo loans.
The income. For the U.S., median household income from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, the official national measure, for every year. For states and metro areas, the American Community Survey median from 2005 (the Census Bureau published no standard 1-year estimates for 2020, so 2020 is the midpoint of 2019 and 2021). Before 2005 the page estimates state and metro incomes: the U.S. median times the place's per-person income relative to the nation from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, scaled to match the place's American Community Survey medians in its first three years. These estimates are marked with an asterisk. As a test, the same method run for 2015 to 2019, a decade after the years it was fitted to, landed a typical 2.7% from the American Community Survey median for states and 2.7% for metro areas; nine places in ten were within 5.6% and 8.9%.
The payment and the down payment. The payment is principal and interest on a 30-year fixed-rate loan for the price minus the down payment, at the average Freddie Mac rate for the year, divided by the year's median household income. Property taxes, homeowners insurance and, for down payments under 20%, mortgage insurance would all add to it. The time to save is the down payment divided by the share of income saved each year, without interest or rent. These are deliberately simple: they compare years and places on the same terms, they do not say what any one family could borrow.
Data through 2025 for every source; Freddie Mac weekly survey through November 5, 2026. Page data last changed November 11, 2026.
10Frequently Asked Questions
Could the typical family afford the house their parents bought?
For the United States as a whole, the typical home cost 4.2 times the median household income in 2025, against 3.4 times in 1995. With 20% down at that year's average 30-year rate, the mortgage payment on the same house took 26.0% of the median income in 2025 and 23.5% in 1995, and saving the down payment at 10% of income took 8.5 years against 6.7 years. Section 01 runs the same comparison for any state, any of the 50 largest metro areas and any two years since 1975.
What does "the same house" mean here?
The page follows the same houses over time with the Federal Housing Finance Agency's house price index, which is built from homes that sold, or were appraised for a refinance, more than once. A home worth the Census Bureau's median value in 2025 is carried back year by year with that index. The result is an estimate for a hypothetical home that followed the area's index, not the median price of the homes that sold that year, which were smaller on average.
Which is harder now, the monthly payment or the down payment?
For the U.S. as a whole, compared with 1995, the payment is harder (26.0% of income against 23.5%) and the down payment is harder (8.5 years of saving against 6.7 years). Mortgage rates decide how heavy the payment is; they do nothing to the down payment, which depends only on the price and on what a household can save. That is why the two can move apart: in 1981 record rates made the payment the hard part, while in 2021 record-low rates kept the payment manageable even as prices outran incomes and the down payment got harder to save.
How much income do you need to afford the typical home?
Lenders have long used 28% of gross income as a guideline for the whole housing payment, including property taxes and insurance, which this page leaves out. Principal and interest alone on the typical U.S. home in 2025, with 20% down at 6.60%, came to $1,896 a month; keeping just that part under 28% took a household income of about $81,000, against a median of $87,460. With taxes and insurance added, the income needed is higher.
Where is housing least affordable compared with incomes?
Among the 50 largest metro areas in 2025, the typical home cost the most relative to the local median income in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (9.7 times income) and the least in Pittsburgh, PA (3.1 times). Section 05 ranks every state and metro for any two years.
How often is this page updated?
Every week it checks for new data. The comparison runs to the latest year that every source covers, 2025 now: the FHFA's annual indexes appear in the spring, the Census Bureau's income figures in September and its American Community Survey estimates in the fall.
11Sources
- Federal Housing Finance Agency: House Price Index datasets (annual all-transactions indexes for the U.S., states and metro areas)
- U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey 1-year estimates (median value of owner-occupied homes, B25077; median household income, B19013; by tenure, B25119), via the Census Data API
- U.S. Census Bureau: Historical Income Tables, Table H-5 (median household income, Current Population Survey)
- Freddie Mac: Primary Mortgage Market Survey (30-year fixed rate, weekly since April 1971)
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: personal income and population by county and state (CAINC1)
- U.S. Census Bureau: metropolitan area delineation files (July 2023)
- U.S. Census Bureau: Historical Census of Housing Tables, home values
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED: consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPIAUCNS)
- National Association of Realtors: 2026 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers and first-time buyers in the 1980s
Related: Historical mortgage rates since 1971 · Mortgage calculator · Interest on the national debt
Cite This Page
This page is free to cite and link. Its figures come from FHFA House Price Index (annual), Census Bureau (American Community Survey, Current Population Survey Table H-5, historical census of housing), Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, BEA personal income and FRED (CPI-U); calculations by DaveManuel.com and are kept current, so please include the date you accessed it.
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| APA | Manuel, D. (2026). Could You Afford the Same House Your Parents Bought? Home Prices vs Incomes Since 1975. DaveManuel.com. Retrieved November 10, 2026, from https://www.davemanuel.com/could-you-afford-your-parents-house.php | Copy |
| Chicago | Manuel, Dave. “Could You Afford the Same House Your Parents Bought? Home Prices vs Incomes Since 1975.” DaveManuel.com. Accessed November 10, 2026. https://www.davemanuel.com/could-you-afford-your-parents-house.php. | Copy |
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Source data: FHFA House Price Index (annual), Census Bureau (American Community Survey, Current Population Survey Table H-5, historical census of housing), Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, BEA personal income and FRED (CPI-U); calculations by DaveManuel.com. Updates: Weekly check; yearly data. How we build our data pages.