Mapped: The World’s Least Affordable Housing Markets in 2024

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1 hour ago

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June 24, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

The World’s Least Affordable Housing Markets in 2024

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Many cities around the world have become very expensive to buy a home in, but which ones are the absolute most unattainable?

In this graphic, we highlight a number of housing markets that are deemed to be “impossibly unaffordable” in 2024, ranked by their median price-to-income ratio.

This data comes from the Demographia International Housing Affordability Report, which is produced by the Chapman University Center for Demographics and Policy.

Data and Key Takeaway

The median price-to-income ratio compares median house price to median household income within each market. A higher ratio (higher prices relative to incomes) means a city is less affordable.

See the following table for all of the data we used to create this graphic. Note that this analysis covers 94 markets across eight countries: Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

RankMetropolitan MarketCountryMedian price-to-income
ratio 1Hong Kong (SAR)🇨🇳 China16.7 2Sydney🇦🇺 Australia13.8 3Vancouver🇨🇦 Canada12.3 4San Jose🇺🇸 U.S.11.9 5Los Angeles🇺🇸 U.S.10.9 6Honolulu🇺🇸 U.S.10.5 7Melbourne🇦🇺 Australia9.8 8San Francisco🇺🇸 U.S.9.7 9Adelaide🇦🇺 Australia9.7 10San Diego🇺🇸 U.S.9.5 11Toronto🇨🇦 Canada9.3 12Auckland🇳🇿 New Zealand8.2

According to the Demographia report, cities with a median price-to-income ratio of over 9.0 are considered “impossibly unaffordable”.

We can see that the top city in this ranking, Hong Kong, has a ratio of 16.7. This means that the median price of a home is 16.7 times greater than the median income.

Which Cities are More Affordable?

On the flipside, here are the top 12 most affordable cities that were analyzed in the Demographia report.

RankMetropolitan MarketCountryMedian price-to-income
ratio 1Pittsburgh🇺🇸 U.S.3.1 2Rochester🇺🇸 U.S.3.4 2St. Louis🇺🇸 U.S.3.4 4Cleveland🇺🇸 U.S.3.5 5Edmonton🇨🇦 Canada3.6 5Buffalo🇺🇸 U.S.3.6 5Detroit🇺🇸 U.S.3.6 5Oklahoma City🇺🇸 U.S.3.6 9Cincinnati🇺🇸 U.S.3.7

Ranked: U.S. Cities with the Highest Rent in 2024

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18 seconds ago

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June 11, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Ranked: U.S. Cities with the Highest Rent in 2024

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Rental prices have surged in several American cities in recent years. Factors such as inflation, a limited housing inventory, a changing workforce, and barriers to homeownership have all contributed to the increase in rent costs.

This graphic shows the top 10 American cities with the highest rental costs as of May 2024, according to the Zumper National Rent Index. Prices are for 1-bedroom units.

NYC Prices: $4,200 for One-Bedroom

New York tops the list with an average monthly cost of $4,200 for a one-bedroom apartment. Not only is it expensive, but due to high demand, living in the Big Apple can be competitive.

While half of all renters in the U.S. spend more than 30% of their income on rent, residents in New York can spend more than 40% of their income renting a place.

RankingCityPrice in 2024Price in 2023YOY change 1New York, NY$4,200$3,78011.1% 2Jersey City, NJ$3,330$3,1814.7% 3San Francisco, CA$2,950$3,001-1.7% 4Boston, MA$2,830$2,7004.8% 5Miami, FL$2,770$2,900-4.5% 6San Jose, CA$2,570$2,630-2.3% 7Arlington, VA$2,380$2,2993.5% 8San Diego, CA$2,370$2,401-1.3% 9Washington, DC$2,300$2,371-3.0% 9Los Angeles, CA$2,300$2,421-5.0%

Across the Hudson River, Jersey City ranks second, with one-bedroom suites priced at $3,330.

On the West Coast, San Francisco leads with $2,950 for a one-bedroom unit. Four of the 10 most expensive cities to rent are in California.

According to a study by Harvard University, the pandemic has intensified the housing affordability crisis in the United States. While high-end market supply may offer some relief to middle and higher-income renters, lower-income households will continue to struggle due to high construction costs and market dynamics.

What are the most valuable housing markets in the United States? We ranked housing markets in this chart to find out.