The median price of a home in America is now around $415,000, which is nearly 10 times more expensive than 50 years prior. In fact, housing and mortgage rates are now so high that there are some cities in which only the wealthy can afford a home.
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To determine which cities are so expensive that only the wealthy could achieve homeownership within them, GOBankingRates examined the 250 biggest housing markets in the country. Within that list, GOBankingRates then sourced home values and down payment/loan amounts and defined wealth as anything more than twice the median household income of $83,730.
From that metric, GOBankingRates found 25 American cities in which only the wealthy can afford the high mortgage rates there, and ordered them from most expensive to least expensive. Is your dream city on the list?
Also see how much a house cost the year you were born.
1. Sunnyvale, California
- August 2025 home value: $2,212,717
- Monthly mortgage: $11,003
- Annual mortgage: $132,037
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $471,561
Find More: The Wealthiest Suburb in Each of America’s 50 Largest Metro Areas
Also See: Florida Home Prices Are Dropping Rapidly — Should You Buy While Prices Are Low?
2. Irvine, California
- August 2025 home value: $1,827,128
- Monthly mortgage: $9,086
- Annual mortgage: $109,028
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $389,386
Discover More: These Are America’s 50 Wealthiest Suburbs in 2025
3. Bellevue, Washington
- August 2025 home value: $1,693,854
- Monthly mortgage: $8,423
- Annual mortgage: $101,076
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $360,984
4. Fremont, California
- August 2025 home value: $1,575,014
- Monthly mortgage: $7,832
- Annual mortgage: $93,984
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $335,657
5. San Jose, California
- August 2025 home value: $1,481,955
- Monthly mortgage: $7,369
- Annual mortgage: $88,431
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $315,825
6. Huntington Beach, California
- August 2025 home value: $1,385,173
- Monthly mortgage: $6,888
- Annual mortgage: $82,656
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $295,200
Also Explore: 25 Places To Buy a Home If You Want It To Gain Value
7. San Francisco
- August 2025 home value: $1,372,495
- Monthly mortgage: $6,825
- Annual mortgage: $81,899
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $292,498
8. Glendale, California
- August 2025 home value: $1,326,259
- Monthly mortgage: $6,595
- Annual mortgage: $79,140
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $282,644
9. Honolulu
- August 2025 home value: $1,231,364
- Monthly mortgage: $6,123
- Annual mortgage: $73,478
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $262,421
10. San Diego
- August 2025 home value: $1,118,448
- Monthly mortgage: $5,562
- Annual mortgage: $66,740
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $238,357
Discover Next: How Much House Does $300K, $400K and $500K Buy You in Every State?
11. Arlington, Virginia
- August 2025 home value: $1,082,223
- Monthly mortgage: $5,382
- Annual mortgage: $64,578
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $230,637
12. Los Angeles
- August 2025 home value: $1,001,465
- Monthly mortgage: $4,980
- Annual mortgage: $59,759
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $213,426
13. Garden Grove, California
- August 2025 home value: $986,857
- Monthly mortgage: $4,907
- Annual mortgage: $58,888
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $210,313
14. Anaheim, California
- August 2025 home value: $950,198
- Monthly mortgage: $4,725
- Annual mortgage: $56,700
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $202,501
15. Scottsdale, Arizona
- August 2025 home value: $933,224
- Monthly mortgage: $4,641
- Annual mortgage: $55,687
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $198,883
16. Seattle
- August 2025 home value: $923,123
- Monthly mortgage: $4,590
- Annual mortgage: $55,085
- Income needed to afford mortgage: 196,731
17. Long Beach, California
- August 2025 home value: $906,250
- Monthly mortgage: $4,506
- Annual mortgage: $54,078
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $193,135
18. Santa Ana, California
- August 2025 home value: $889,089
- Monthly mortgage: $4,421
- Annual mortgage: $53,054
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $189,477
Read More: 10 Best Places To Buy a Short-Term Rental Property To Earn Passive Income in 2025
19. Oceanside, California
- August 2025 home value: $887,853
- Monthly mortgage: $4,415
- Annual mortgage: $52,980
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $189,214
20. Chula Vista, California
- August 2025 home value: $878,862
- Monthly mortgage: $4,370
- Annual mortgage: $52,443
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $187,298
21. Hayward, California
- August 2025 home value: $856,254
- Monthly mortgage: $4,258
- Annual mortgage: $51,094
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $182,480
22. Escondido, California
- August 2025 home value: $853,668
- Monthly mortgage: $4,245
- Annual mortgage: $50,940
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $181,929
23. New York City
- August 2025 home value: $844,817
- Monthly mortgage: $4,201
- Annual mortgage: $50,412
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $180,042
24. Santa Clarita, California
- August 2025 home value: $836,186
- Monthly mortgage: $4,158
- Annual mortgage: $49,897
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $178,203
25. El Cajon, California
- August 2025 home value: $833,460
- Monthly mortgage: $4,145
- Annual mortgage: $49,734
- Income needed to afford mortgage: $177,622
Methodology: GOBankingRates defined wealthy as anything more than 2X the median household income ($83,730). GOBankingRates then found the August 2025 home value for each of the 250 cities, sourced from Zillow. GOBankingRates then found the 20% down payment and loan amount for each city. To find the mortgage payment, GOBankingRates assumed a 20% down payment with a 6.34% interest rate (via Freddie Mac). No property tax, HOA fees, or PMI was included in the monthly mortgage payments. GOBankingRates assumed no more than 28% of gross income spent on mortgage payments. All cities where the salary needed to afford the mortgage with the above specifications (above $167,460) were included in final rankings. All data was collected on Oct. 8, 2025.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 25 Places in the US Where Only the Wealthy Can Afford a Home
