The Fact
In 1970, median family income was about 47.3% above the income needed to qualify for the median existing home. In the current 2024–2026 benchmark used in the Home Economics research, buying the median-priced home with a standard 10% down payment required roughly $128,360 in annual household income—around the 67th percentile of U.S. household income.
What This Means
The ordinary household did not merely start wanting a fancier house. The income position required to carry the median home changed. A median family once sat comfortably above the qualifying threshold; today the household buying the median home needs an income well above the median. That helps explain why two incomes increasingly feel necessary just to reach what earlier households could finance from a much lower place in the income distribution.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development / National Association of REALTORS®. Housing Affordability Index, historical data 1970–present.
- National Association of REALTORS®. Housing Affordability Index. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/housing-statistics/housing-affordability-index
- U.S. Census Bureau. Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement: income distribution tables.