How much you need to earn to buy
Zillow found that renting a single-family home in the San Francisco metropolitan area, like this one in San Francisco, requires a household income of $168,000.
TL;DR
- Buying a typical single-family home in the San Francisco metro area requires an annual household income of roughly $307,000.
- Renting a typical home in the San Francisco metro area requires a household income of about $168,000.
- The San Jose metro area requires approximately $405,000 to buy and $191,000 to rent a typical home.
- These required incomes are significantly higher than the median household incomes in both metro areas.
- A 20% down payment on a mid-value San Francisco area house would be around $240,000.
- Renting is often more financially viable than buying due to high down payments and mortgage rates.
- Rent growth in the Bay Area is the fastest in the country, and less than a third of rentals are affordable on a $100,000 income.