---
title: "The Salary You Need to Buy a Home in 2026 and the Jobs"
canonical: "https://www.metaintro.com/blog/salary-needed-to-buy-a-home-2026-jobs-that-pay-it"
language: "en"
author: "drashtigarach"
published: "2026-08-10T11:15:59.000Z"
modified: "2026-08-10T11:15:59.000Z"
---

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# The Salary You Need to Buy a Home in 2026 and the Jobs That Actually Pay It

You need 109,796 dollars to afford the typical US home in 2026, and the median household earns 22,197 less. Here are the occupations that clear the bar.

[![Drashti Garach](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:40:40/q:72/plain/images/5719d740-e510-42bc-8017-e040d145f35f_1766029465094.png)Drashti Garach @DrashtiGarach](/blog/author/drashtigarach)

[August 10, 2026](/blog/archive/2026/08)12 min read

![A street of newly built suburban houses at first light with empty driveways](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:675/q:78/plain/images/10045.png)

[https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20Salary%20You%20Need%20to%20Buy%20a%20Home%20in%202026%20and%20the%20Jobs%20That%20Actually%20Pay%20It&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsalary-needed-to-buy-a-home-2026-jobs-that-pay-it](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20Salary%20You%20Need%20to%20Buy%20a%20Home%20in%202026%20and%20the%20Jobs%20That%20Actually%20Pay%20It&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsalary-needed-to-buy-a-home-2026-jobs-that-pay-it)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsalary-needed-to-buy-a-home-2026-jobs-that-pay-it](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsalary-needed-to-buy-a-home-2026-jobs-that-pay-it)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsalary-needed-to-buy-a-home-2026-jobs-that-pay-it&title=The%20Salary%20You%20Need%20to%20Buy%20a%20Home%20in%202026%20and%20the%20Jobs%20That%20Actually%20Pay%20It](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsalary-needed-to-buy-a-home-2026-jobs-that-pay-it&title=The%20Salary%20You%20Need%20to%20Buy%20a%20Home%20in%202026%20and%20the%20Jobs%20That%20Actually%20Pay%20It)[mailto:?subject=The%20Salary%20You%20Need%20to%20Buy%20a%20Home%20in%202026%20and%20the%20Jobs%20That%20Actually%20Pay%20It&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsalary-needed-to-buy-a-home-2026-jobs-that-pay-it](mailto:?subject=The%20Salary%20You%20Need%20to%20Buy%20a%20Home%20in%202026%20and%20the%20Jobs%20That%20Actually%20Pay%20It&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsalary-needed-to-buy-a-home-2026-jobs-that-pay-it)

A household needs an annual income of [109,796 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) to afford the typical US home, [according to Redfin](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) analysis of June 2026 data. The median US household earns [87,599 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/), which leaves a shortfall of [22,197 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) a year. At [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com), we track roughly 50 million job postings, and the useful way to read that gap is as a career question rather than a housing one. The number is a target, and some occupations clear it on a single income while most do not.

## What Does the 109,796 Dollar Figure Actually Mean?

It is the income required to keep housing costs at or below [30 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) of earnings for a median priced home. Redfin builds the estimate from median home prices, mortgage rates and property taxes, and assumes a [15 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) down payment. That last assumption matters, because a smaller deposit raises the income you would need and a larger one lowers it.

The figure has been broadly flat rather than climbing. It sits [0.5 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) below the [110,382 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) required a year earlier, which is the first meaningful pause after several years of deterioration. Yingqi Xu, senior economist at [Redfin](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/), put it plainly, saying that "the earnings needed to buy a house have stabilized after several years of deterioration, but that doesn't mean homes are affordable to the average American".

There is a second, lower bar worth knowing about. Affording a typical entry level home requires [70,693 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/), down [1.5 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) annually. That is below the median household income, which means the starter home market is reachable for a median earning household in a way the median home is not.

## Is the Gap Between Pay and Prices Getting Better or Worse?

Better, and the improvement is being driven by wages rather than by falling prices. The shortfall narrowed to [22,197 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) from [26,125 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) a year earlier and [28,834 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) two years ago. Median household income rose about [4 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) to [87,599 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) from [84,257 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/).

The share of listings within reach improved too. [34.2 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) of homes for sale were affordable to a household on the national median income, up from [30.5 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) a year earlier. Housing costs now consume [37.6 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) of median income for the typical home, down from [39.3 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/).

The career implication is specific. Because the required income has stopped rising, a raise now closes real ground rather than being absorbed by a moving target. For the past several years income growth was chasing a threshold that kept climbing, and that is no longer the case. That makes this an unusually good moment to push on pay, and our guide to [salary negotiation tactics that actually work](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/salary-negotiation-tactics-that-work-2026) covers how.

## Which Jobs Actually Pay Above the Threshold?

Most of the professional occupations we reviewed do, on a single salary. Using national annual mean wages from the [US Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), computer and information systems managers lead at [192,160 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), followed by lawyers at [185,840 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) and marketing managers at [177,770 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm).

The technical and clinical middle of the list clears the bar comfortably. Software developers average [148,100 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), physician assistants [141,280 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), medical and health services managers [140,970 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) and computer network architects [139,580 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm). General and operations managers average [134,940 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) and information security analysts [132,510 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), a field our [cybersecurity salary guide](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/cybersecurity-salary-guide-2026-roles-pay-by-experience) breaks down by experience level.

Closer to the line, data scientists average [126,800 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), financial and investment analysts [116,800 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), management analysts [113,790 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) and mechanical engineers [113,610 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm). Two fall just short, with securities and financial services sales agents at [109,150 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) and registered nurses at [101,420 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), though both have specialisms and locations that pay well above their national average, as our [registered nurse salary guide by state and specialty](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/registered-nurse-salary-2026-by-state-and-specialty) shows.

For context on how selective that list is, the mean across all occupations is [69,770 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm). The threshold sits well above what a typical job pays, which is precisely why the median household falls short of it.

## Why Does a Six Figure Salary Still Not Feel Like Enough?

Because the threshold assumes a specific set of conditions that many buyers cannot meet. The [15 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) down payment assumption is the largest hidden variable, since a buyer without that deposit needs a materially higher income to reach the same monthly payment. Student debt, childcare and existing loan commitments sit outside the calculation entirely.

Geography then overwhelms everything. Buying in San Francisco requires [453,205 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) against a local median income of [162,118 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/), and San Jose requires [423,840 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) against [176,401 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/). Even a very well paid technical salary does not close a gap of that size, which is the tension we explored in [what a high tech salary really buys in San Francisco](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/san-francisco-180k-tech-salary-cost-of-living-2026) and in our piece on [the new cash poor who earn six figures](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/the-new-cash-poor-earns-six-figures-2026).

The reverse also holds, and it is the more actionable half. St. Louis requires [86,410 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) against a local median income of [88,593 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/), and Pittsburgh requires [82,816 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) against [83,419 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/). In both, the typical local household already earns more than the typical local home demands. Whether a salary is enough is a question about where you work as much as what you do.

## What Should You Do if Your Job Does Not Clear the Bar?

Work the three levers in order of how quickly they move. The fastest is usually negotiation in your current seat or at your next offer, because it requires no retraining and no relocation. Our guides to [negotiating salary in an interview](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/negotiate-salary-in-an-interview) and [asking for a raise](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/how-to-ask-for-a-raise) cover the mechanics, and the flat threshold means gains you make now are not immediately eaten by a rising bar.

The second lever is specialising within your field rather than leaving it. Registered nurses average [101,420 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) nationally, but nurse practitioners and specific specialisms sit considerably higher, as our [nurse practitioner salary guide](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/nurse-practitioner-salary-guide-2026-pay-by-state-and-specialty) and [highest paying nursing careers guide](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/highest-paying-nursing-careers-2026-salary-path-guide) set out. The same is true across most professions, where the national average conceals a wide internal range and the top of that range clears the threshold.

The third lever is geography, and it is the most powerful single move available. Moving from a metro requiring [453,205 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) to one requiring [82,816 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) changes the arithmetic more than any promotion could. The complication is that pay often falls alongside costs, so the calculation only works if your earnings hold up, which is why remote and hybrid roles matter so much here. Our guide to [handling a move without relocation assistance](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/no-relocation-assistance-career-move-tips) covers the practical side, and [employers increasingly pay people to live near the office](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/pay-employees-live-near-office-relocation-bonus-2026), which cuts the other way.

A fourth option deserves mention because the data supports it. The entry level threshold of [70,693 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) is beneath the median household income, so a starter home is within reach on an ordinary salary in much of the country even when the median home is not. Aiming at the achievable rung rather than the typical one changes the timeline considerably.

## How Long Would It Take to Close the Gap With Career Moves Alone?

Faster than waiting for the market, which is the encouraging part. The shortfall between the median household income and the required income is [22,197 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) a year. Set against a median household income of [87,599 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/), that is roughly a quarter of current earnings, which sounds daunting until you compare it with what a deliberate career move typically delivers.

A single well executed job change frequently moves compensation by more than an internal raise cycle does, and two moves across several years can plausibly cover ground of this size in fields with steep ladders. The threshold itself moved down [0.5 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) over the past year, so unlike the previous few years you are no longer running to stand still.

The caution is that not every field has that shape. In occupations where the national average and the top of the range sit close together, the realistic path runs through geography or a partner's income rather than through promotion. Being honest with yourself about which kind of field you are in prevents years of effort aimed at a ceiling that does not move.

## Does a Two Income Household Change the Maths?

Substantially, and it is how most buyers actually reach the threshold. The [109,796 dollar](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) figure is a household number rather than an individual one, so two earners each on the all occupations mean of [69,770 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) clear it together with room to spare, even though neither comes close alone. That single fact explains most of the distance between how unaffordable the headline sounds and how many people still manage to buy.

It also explains why the affordability conversation so often talks past people. A figure of [109,796 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) sounds impossible measured against a single ordinary salary and entirely ordinary measured against two. Both readings are accurate, and which one applies to you is the first thing to establish before drawing conclusions about your own prospects.

That reframes the career question for couples. The highest leverage move may be raising the lower of the two incomes rather than pushing the higher one further, since the same absolute gain is usually easier to achieve earlier in a pay range than at the top of it. It also raises the stakes on career breaks and caregiving gaps, which fall unevenly and can quietly remove a household from the affordable bracket for years.

For single earners the picture is harder and worth naming honestly. A sole earner needs to reach a threshold that most occupations do not pay on average, which is why the [70,693 dollar](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) entry level figure and the lower cost metros matter far more to that group. It also explains why so many people are taking on additional work, a trend we covered in [why young workers are stacking multiple jobs](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/young-workers-multiple-jobs-cost-of-living-2026).

## Does Any of This Change How You Should Pick a Career?

It changes how you should weigh a salary figure, though not the whole decision. A wage only means something against local costs, so an offer should be assessed as a ratio to the local affordability threshold rather than as an absolute number. An offer of [113,610 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) clears the national bar comfortably and falls hopelessly short in the Bay Area.

The second shift is toward fields with wide internal ranges and clear progression, because those give you room to move without starting over. Technology, healthcare management and specialised finance all show that shape in the wage data, and our guides to [software engineer pay by level and city](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/software-engineer-salary-2026-by-level-and-city), [data scientist pay by experience](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/data-scientist-salary-2026-pay-by-experience-and-city) and [product manager pay by level](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/product-manager-salary-guide-2026-what-you-should-earn-by-level) show how steep those ladders can be.

It is also worth revisiting the number annually rather than treating it as fixed, since both sides of the calculation move. Finally, treat the threshold as a planning tool rather than a verdict. It moved down slightly this year, incomes moved up, and the gap fell from [26,125 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) to [22,197 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) in twelve months. Two or three deliberate career moves compound faster than that, which puts more of this within your control than the headline number suggests.

## Related Articles

- [How Much Is Six Figures, Really](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/how-much-is-six-figures)
- [The New Cash Poor Who Earn Six Figures](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/the-new-cash-poor-earns-six-figures-2026)
- [Six Figure Jobs That Did Not Exist a Few Years Ago](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/six-figure-jobs-that-didnt-exist-2026)
- [Salary Negotiation Tactics That Work](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/salary-negotiation-tactics-that-work-2026)
- [How to Negotiate Salary in an Interview](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/negotiate-salary-in-an-interview)
- [How to Ask for a Raise](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/how-to-ask-for-a-raise)
- [Cybersecurity Salary Guide by Role and Experience](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/cybersecurity-salary-guide-2026-roles-pay-by-experience)
- [Software Engineer Salary by Level and City](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/software-engineer-salary-2026-by-level-and-city)
- [Data Scientist Salary by Experience and City](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/data-scientist-salary-2026-pay-by-experience-and-city)
- [Product Manager Salary Guide by Level](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/product-manager-salary-guide-2026-what-you-should-earn-by-level)
- [Registered Nurse Salary by State and Specialty](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/registered-nurse-salary-2026-by-state-and-specialty)
- [Why Young Workers Are Taking Multiple Jobs](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/young-workers-multiple-jobs-cost-of-living-2026)

## People Also Asked

### Q: What salary do you need to buy a house in 2026?

A: A household needs [109,796 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) a year to afford the typical US home while keeping housing costs at or below [30 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) of income, assuming a [15 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) down payment. A typical entry level home requires [70,693 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/), which is below the median household income.

### Q: Which jobs pay enough to afford a typical home on one salary?

A: On national annual mean wages, computer and information systems managers at [192,160 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), lawyers at [185,840 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), marketing managers at [177,770 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm), software developers at [148,100 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) and physician assistants at [141,280 dollars](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) all clear it comfortably. Averages hide wide ranges, so seniority and location matter as much as the job title.

### Q: Is housing affordability improving or getting worse?

A: Improving modestly. The affordability gap narrowed to [22,197 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) from [26,125 dollars](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) a year earlier, and the share of affordable listings rose to [34.2 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/) from [30.5 percent](https://www.redfin.com/news/affordability-homebuying-2026/). That is progress driven by rising incomes rather than falling prices.

Wondering what you should earn to close a gap like this? [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) tracks roughly 50 million job postings so you can compare real advertised pay for your role across cities before you plan a move, and you can [create a free account](https://www.metaintro.com/signup) to get matched with roles that clear the bar where you actually want to live.

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