Housing Affordability Statistics for Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles Home Affordability Trends
ATTOM’s affordability index data provides a quarterly update on home affordability trends for counties nationwide. The data shows where home price appreciation is outpacing wage growth, as well as the annual income typically needed to buy a home. The statistics provide key points of reference for property investors.
- Historical trends on housing affordability in Los Angeles, California, dating back to 2005
- Potential shifts among homebuyers in the county
- Detailed analysis of market trends based on quarterly data
Latest Housing Affordability Highlights for Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California, the most populous county in the nation, is inhabited by over 10 million people and includes around 3.5 million housing units. This population density combined with the dynamics of demand and supply mean that owning a home is out of reach for most households.
Here are the latest data highlights from ATTOM’s Home Affordability Index for Los Angeles County.
Wages
Annualized wages have been rising but price gains are outpacing wage growth in three-quarters of national markets, including Los Angeles County, California.
Homeownership
Homeownership has been increasingly difficult in Los Angeles County since 2018.
Prices
Median sales prices continue to climb to high-levels, almost reaching 1 Million.
Affordability
The cost of a median-priced home in Los Angeles County is unaffordable for the average local worker.
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Housing Affordability Index Summary for Los Angeles County
Los Angeles is one of the most populous counties where major expenses on median-priced homes are consistently unaffordable for average local workers.
In 2012, the housing affordability index for Los Angeles reached a high of around 160, meaning it was more affordable than its historic norms. The index remained at 100 or below after 2016 but dropped to 97 in Q2 2018. This indicated that fewer households could afford to purchase a home.
Since then, home ownership has once again become out of reach for most Los Angeles County residents, with the Affordability Index ranging from 70 to 100. An index of less than 100 is considered less affordable than the historical average. Median sales prices are the highest they have ever been in the county with median home prices over $800,000 in 2024.
ATTOM’s housing affordability index report for Los Angeles County analyzes median home prices derived from publicly recorded sales deed data collected by ATTOM and average wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The housing affordability index is based on the percentage of average wages needed to make a monthly house payment on a median-priced home with a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage and a 20 percent down payment, including property taxes, home insurance, and mortgage insurance. Average 30-year fixed interest rates from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey are used to calculate the monthly house payments.
The index is calculated by taking the amount of income needed to meet monthly housing expenses, which is compared to annualized average weekly wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.