How Much Does Your Household Need to Make to Buy a House in South Carolina (And the rest of the U.S.)?

Howmuch.net has collected average home prices for every state from Zillow which were then plugged into a mortgage calculator to figure out monthly payments. The interest rate used varied from 4 to 5% in each state, depending on the market. The lower the interest rate, the lower the monthly payment. To keep things simple, they assumed buyers could contribute a 10% down payment.

Another factor to keep in mind is that financial advisors commonly recommend the total cost of housing take up no more than 30% of gross income (the amount before taxes, retirement savings, etc.). Using this rule as our benchmark, they calculated the minimum salary required to afford the average home in each state.

Let us start with the Top 5 Best and Worst:

Top 5 Places Where You Need the Lowest Salaries to Afford the Average Home

1. West Virginia: $38,320 for a house worth $149,500
2. Ohio: $38,400 for a house worth $149,900
3. Michigan: $40,800 for a house worth $160,000
4. Arkansas: $41,040 for a house worth $161,000
5. Missouri: $42,200 for a house worth $165,900

Top 5 Places Where You Need the Highest Salaries to Afford the Average Home

1. Hawaii: $153,520 for a house worth $610,000
2. Washington, DC: $138,440 for a house worth $549,000
3. California: $120,120 for a house worth $499,900
4. Massachusetts: $101,320 for a house worth $419,900
5. Colorado: $100,200 for a house worth $415,000

Where do we stand in South Carolina?

$58,840 Salary for a house worth $150,600*

*Zillow Average South Carolina Home Price