This map reveals how much you need to earn to buy a house — and Pittsburgh is a steal | The Numbers Racket

So here at the Numbers Racket, we’re suckers for great maps and data visualizations. Which means this combination map/data visualization from the folks at HowMuch.com showing how much you need to earn to buy a house in America’s largest metropolitan areas just hits our sweet spot.

Further breaking things down:

The Top 5 Metro Areas With the Highest Salary Required for Buying a Home
1. San Jose, Calif. — $254,835.73
2. San Francisco, Calif. — $198,978.01
3. San Diego, Calif. — $131,640.79
4. Los Angeles, Calif. — $123,156.01
5. Boston, Mass. — $106,789.93

The 5 Metro Areas With the Lowest Salary Required for Buying a Home
1. Pittsburgh, Pa. — $37,659.86
2. Cleveland, Ohio — $40,437.72
3. Oklahoma City, Okla. — $41,335.41
4. Memphis, Tenn. — $41,400.93
5. Indianapolis, Ind. — $42,288.92

A note about the methodology. According to the HowMuch numbers crunchers:

The data for this visualization comes from the mortgage information site HSH Associates. In conducting their analysis, HSH compiled median-home price data from the National Association of Realtors, national mortgage rate data from Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, and property tax and homeowner’s insurance costs data to determine the annual salary it takes to afford a home (including principal, interest, property tax and homeowner’s insurance, or PITI) in the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas. The analysis also assumed a down payment of 20 percent.