According to ATTOM’s Q3 2025 U.S. Home Affordability Report, across the U.S., the typical monthly cost for mortgage payments, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance, and property taxes was $2,123 in Q3 2025. That figure held steady from the previous quarter but marked a 6 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
The report also indicated that in the third quarter of 2025, owning a median-priced single-family home or condo required 33.3 percent of the average American’s wages. That share was up slightly from 33.2 percent in the prior quarter and 32.2 percent a year earlier.
ATTOM’s latest home affordability analysis revealed that in 199 of the 580 counties analyzed (34.3 percent), the cost of owning a median-priced home consumed more than 43 percent of the average local wage—a level widely considered seriously unaffordable.
The report stated that Counties in California and New York topped the list for unaffordability in Q3 2025. Among the 25 counties where homeownership consumed the largest share of local wages, 12 were located in California and 5 in New York.
The latest home affordability report found that the counties with the highest homeownership burden in Q3 2025 included Kings County, NY, where expenses consumed 113 percent of the average local wage, followed by Santa Cruz County, CA (111.8 percent), Marin County, CA (101.3 percent), Monterey County, CA (96.8 percent), and Maui County, HI (94 percent).
In this post, we take a more granular look at the data behind ATTOM’s Q3 2025 U.S. Home Affordability Report to reveal the top 10 U.S. counties with the lowest percentage of annualized wages needed to own a median price single family home or condo in third quarter 2025. Among those counties with a population of at least 100,000 and at least 50 single-family home and condo sales in the third quarter of 2025, those with the lowest percentage of annualized wages needed to own a home are:
#10 – Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 17.7%
#9 – Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 17.6%
#8 – Saint Lawrence County, New York
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 17.2%
#7 – Wayne County, Michigan
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 17.1%
#6 – Rock Island County, Illinois
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 16.8%
#5 – Mobile County, Alabama
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 16.5%
#4 – Peoria County, Illinois
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 16.1%
#3 – Jefferson County, Alabama
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 16%
#2 – Macon County, Illinois
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 14.2%
#1 – Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 9.8%
Conclusion
Despite widespread affordability challenges across the U.S. housing market in Q3 2025, ATTOM’s Q3 2025 Home Affordability Report reveals there are still pockets of relative affordability. The counties featured in this top 10 list represent areas where homeownership remains within reach for the average wage earner, requiring the lowest percentage of annualized wages to own a single-family house and condo.
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