Metro Affordability Ratios
Posted Saturday, May 08 2010
In my previous post I calculated the adjusted rent ratio for the US by scaling Census reported median contract rent by the ratio of average owner occupied household size to average renter occupied household size. Since owning households are generally larger than renting households, unmodified median contract rent tends to skew rent ratios higher and makes homes look slightly less affordable than they otherwise would. With this in mind I set out to calculate adjusted price-to-rent ratios for all cities with Census household data that NAR reports median sales price data for. The results are below. The data comes from NAR's 4Q 2009 sales report and 2008 Census ACS statistics.
I've also calculated how these measures change in time (as an index) in the affordability section.
Home Affordability Measures from Median Sales Price
| Metro | Price-to-Income | Price-to-Rent | Price-to-Rent (Adj) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron, Ohio | 2.11 | 15.53 | 13.03 |
| Albany, New York | 3.11 | 22.96 | 17.22 |
| Albuquerque, New Mexico | 3.72 | 23.53 | 20.71 |
| Allentown, Pennsylvania | 3.66 | 25.79 | 22.14 |
| Amarillo, Texas | 2.56 | 19.18 | 15.82 |
| Atlanta, Georgia | 2.06 | 14.0 | 12.97 |
| Atlantic City, New Jersey | 4.23 | 23.14 | 20.6 |
| Austin, Texas | 3.11 | 20.81 | 17.17 |
| Baltimore, Maryland | 3.69 | 24.4 | 21.32 |
| Barnstable Town, Massachusetts | 5.89 | 31.48 | 25.99 |
| Baton Rouge, Louisiana | 3.25 | 23.94 | 21.57 |
| Beaumont, Texas | 2.64 | 20.81 | 18.81 |
| Binghamton, New York | 2.61 | 19.61 | 15.38 |
| Birmingham, Alabama | 2.93 | 22.65 | 20.31 |
| Bismarck, North Dakota | 2.93 | 26.76 | 19.78 |
| Bloomington, Illinois | 2.52 | 22.64 | 18.09 |
| Boise City, Idaho | 2.78 | 17.79 | 16.66 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | 4.66 | 28.01 | 22.25 |
| Boulder, Colorado | 5.04 | 31.84 | 28.12 |
| Bridgeport, Connecticut | 4.42 | 31.81 | 28.15 |
| Buffalo, New York | 2.31 | 18.41 | 14.42 |
| Canton, Ohio | 1.97 | 15.24 | 13.16 |
| Cape Coral, Florida | 1.78 | 9.07 | 9.41 |
| Cedar Rapids, Iowa | 2.6 | 24.1 | 16.95 |
| Champaign, Illinois | 2.99 | 19.8 | 15.89 |
| Charleston, South Carolina | 3.58 | 22.92 | 21.98 |
| Charleston, West Virginia | 2.87 | 25.29 | 21.0 |
| Charlotte, North Carolina | 3.37 | 24.31 | 21.98 |
| Chattanooga, Tennessee | 2.66 | 19.42 | 16.73 |
| Chicago, Illinois | 3.12 | 20.67 | 17.79 |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | 2.31 | 18.6 | 15.72 |
| Cleveland, Ohio | 2.24 | 15.98 | 13.02 |
| Colorado Springs, Colorado | 3.22 | 22.03 | 19.91 |
| Columbia, Missouri | 3.08 | 20.43 | 18.07 |
| Columbus, Ohio | 2.44 | 18.59 | 15.91 |
| Corpus Christi, Texas | 2.98 | 18.84 | 17.42 |
| Cumberland, Maryland | 2.64 | 21.55 | 18.33 |
| Dallas, Texas | 2.52 | 17.65 | 15.12 |
| Davenport, Iowa | 2.18 | 17.64 | 14.95 |
| Dayton, Ohio | 2.21 | 16.6 | 14.65 |
| Decatur, Alabama | 1.8 | 17.52 | 16.68 |
| Deltona, Florida | 2.66 | 13.62 | 13.07 |
| Denver, Colorado | 3.7 | 24.22 | 21.66 |
| Des Moines, Iowa | 2.48 | 19.72 | 15.9 |
| Dover, Delaware | 3.49 | 22.08 | 19.19 |
| Durham, North Carolina | 3.18 | 20.85 | 17.86 |
| El Paso, Texas | 3.65 | 21.73 | 18.83 |
| Elmira, New York | 2.09 | 15.46 | 12.45 |
| Erie, Pennsylvania | 2.21 | 17.07 | 14.76 |
| Eugene, Oregon | 4.57 | 24.75 | 21.67 |
| Fargo, North Dakota | 3.0 | 22.49 | 15.42 |
| Farmington, New Mexico | 3.91 | 29.65 | 27.27 |
| Florence, South Carolina | 2.95 | 23.13 | 24.05 |
| Fort Wayne, Indiana | 1.92 | 15.9 | 13.22 |
| Gainesville, Florida | 3.91 | 19.32 | 15.92 |
| Glens Falls, New York | 3.2 | 21.25 | 18.34 |
| Grand Rapids, Michigan | 1.8 | 12.72 | 10.56 |
| Green Bay, Wisconsin | 2.51 | 20.5 | 16.72 |
| Greensboro, North Carolina | 2.83 | 20.11 | 19.31 |
| Greenville, South Carolina | 3.05 | 22.52 | 19.73 |
| Gulfport, Mississippi | 2.86 | 15.71 | 15.27 |
| Hagerstown, Maryland | 3.01 | 20.38 | 18.56 |
| Hartford, Connecticut | 3.37 | 24.33 | 19.97 |
| Honolulu, Hawaii | 8.63 | 41.59 | 38.12 |
| Houston, Texas | 2.67 | 19.35 | 16.61 |
| Indianapolis, Indiana | 2.08 | 15.59 | 13.28 |
| Jackson, Mississippi | 2.86 | 19.77 | 18.95 |
| Jacksonville, Florida | 2.59 | 15.89 | 14.28 |
| Kankakee, Illinois | 2.53 | 17.88 | 14.95 |
| Kansas City, Missouri | 2.47 | 19.47 | 15.83 |
| Kennewick, Washington | 3.26 | 23.12 | 21.24 |
| Kingston, New York | 3.93 | 22.87 | 19.66 |
| Knoxville, Tennessee | 3.07 | 22.11 | 18.28 |
| Lansing, Michigan | 1.69 | 11.59 | 9.74 |
| Las Vegas, Nevada | 2.46 | 12.92 | 12.64 |
| Lexington, Kentucky | 2.78 | 20.94 | 18.21 |
| Lincoln, Nebraska | 2.48 | 19.95 | 15.53 |
| Little Rock, Arkansas | 2.92 | 20.58 | 18.86 |
| Los Angeles, California | 5.85 | 27.34 | 24.94 |
| Louisville, Kentucky | 2.67 | 20.57 | 17.91 |
| Madison, Wisconsin | 3.36 | 23.95 | 19.47 |
| Memphis, Tennessee | 2.62 | 17.21 | 16.5 |
| Miami, Florida | 4.04 | 17.46 | 17.01 |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 3.46 | 24.57 | 20.24 |
| Minneapolis, Minnesota | 2.54 | 18.32 | 14.39 |
| Mobile, Alabama | 3.06 | 20.67 | 18.57 |
| Montgomery, Alabama | 2.72 | 19.84 | 19.38 |
| New Haven, Connecticut | 3.85 | 23.89 | 19.66 |
| New Orleans, Louisiana | 3.32 | 17.43 | 16.42 |
| New York, New York | 5.81 | 32.29 | 27.49 |
| Norwich, Connecticut | 3.04 | 20.84 | 17.46 |
| Ocala, Florida | 2.32 | 11.21 | 12.77 |
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 2.86 | 21.84 | 19.92 |
| Omaha, Nebraska | 2.37 | 18.36 | 14.38 |
| Orlando, Florida | 2.77 | 13.9 | 13.39 |
| Palm Bay, Florida | 2.03 | 10.8 | 10.54 |
| Pensacola, Florida | 3.08 | 18.21 | 17.93 |
| Peoria, Illinois | 2.13 | 18.43 | 14.88 |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 3.49 | 23.31 | 18.53 |
| Phoenix, Arizona | 2.57 | 14.93 | 15.25 |
| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 2.39 | 19.05 | 15.24 |
| Pittsfield, Massachusetts | 3.86 | 24.45 | 18.76 |
| Portland, Oregon | 4.07 | 27.29 | 22.66 |
| Providence, Rhode Island | 3.94 | 26.02 | 20.47 |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | 3.55 | 26.86 | 24.02 |
| Reading, Pennsylvania | 2.8 | 21.69 | 18.32 |
| Reno, Nevada | 3.25 | 19.74 | 19.36 |
| Riverside, California | 3.13 | 15.05 | 14.6 |
| Rochester, New York | 2.14 | 15.17 | 12.29 |
| Rockford, Illinois | 2.18 | 16.65 | 14.06 |
| Sacramento, California | 3.09 | 17.46 | 16.83 |
| Saginaw, Michigan | 1.63 | 11.06 | 10.28 |
| Salem, Oregon | 3.65 | 24.62 | 23.99 |
| Salt Lake City, Utah | 3.46 | 23.92 | 20.8 |
| San Antonio, Texas | 3.01 | 19.42 | 16.98 |
| San Diego, California | 6.02 | 27.92 | 26.35 |
| San Francisco, California | 7.17 | 38.13 | 32.53 |
| San Jose, California | 6.64 | 36.54 | 34.02 |
| Seattle, Washington | 4.6 | 29.23 | 24.81 |
| Shreveport, Louisiana | 3.78 | 23.21 | 21.69 |
| Sioux Falls, South Dakota | 2.41 | 19.25 | 15.47 |
| South Bend, Indiana | 2.02 | 12.92 | 11.16 |
| Spartanburg, South Carolina | 2.68 | 20.78 | 19.82 |
| Spokane, Washington | 3.51 | 23.86 | 20.6 |
| Springfield, Illinois | 2.09 | 18.02 | 14.61 |
| Springfield, Massachusetts | 3.54 | 23.62 | 19.46 |
| Springfield, Missouri | 2.43 | 18.5 | 16.29 |
| St Louis, Missouri | 2.38 | 18.67 | 15.85 |
| Syracuse, New York | 2.37 | 17.06 | 13.21 |
| Tallahassee, Florida | 3.44 | 19.37 | 17.87 |
| Tampa, Florida | 3.03 | 15.37 | 14.51 |
| Toledo, Ohio | 1.94 | 14.59 | 12.85 |
| Topeka, Kansas | 2.07 | 17.6 | 15.4 |
| Trenton, New Jersey | 3.35 | 23.38 | 20.19 |
| Tucson, Arizona | 3.58 | 22.05 | 20.65 |
| Virginia Beach, Virginia | 3.5 | 21.26 | 19.88 |
| Washington, District of Columbia | 3.57 | 22.25 | 19.05 |
| Waterloo, Iowa | 2.35 | 18.76 | 16.24 |
| Wichita, Kansas | 2.31 | 20.51 | 16.28 |
| Worcester, Massachusetts | 3.32 | 25.16 | 19.37 |
| Yakima, Washington | 3.31 | 24.26 | 22.74 |
| Youngstown, Ohio | 1.79 | 13.49 | 10.86 |
| US | 3.44 | 20.97 | 18.95 |
