Purchasing a home for half a million dollars isn’t exactly easy in today’s housing market, but having a healthy savings can make it much, much easier. Specifically, having at least 20% ($100,000) set aside for a down payment can help secure your dream home. That said, do you know how long it would take to save up that amount of money in your state?
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GOBankingRates recently researched the median incomes in every state in America, using information from the U.S. Census Bureau. With that information in hand, GOBankingRates then calculated a yearly savings amount of 20% of that income per state, while also factoring in a monthly mortgage range of $2,619. From those numbers, GOBankingRates was able to extrapolate how long it would take to you to save the $100,000 down payment needed to purchase a $500,000 dream home in every state in the Southern United States.
Alabama
- Median income for single person: $34,564
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,670
- How many years to save up down payment: 17.6
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Arkansas
- Median income for single person: $33,475
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,606
- How many years to save up down payment: 17.8
Delaware
- Median income for single person: $49,822
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,054
- How many years to save up down payment: 12.4
Florida
- Median income for single person: $45,261
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,670
- How many years to save up down payment: 13.0
Georgia
- Median income for single person: $45,785
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $7,390
- How many years to save up down payment: 13.5
Kentucky
- Median income for single person: $36,358
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,974
- How many years to save up down payment: 18.7
Louisiana
- Median income for single person: $34,604
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,810
- How many years to save up down payment: 17.2
Maryland
- Median income for single person: $61,575
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $9,406
- How many years to save up down payment: 10.6
Mississippi
- Median income for single person: $30,138
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,128
- How many years to save up down payment: 19.5
North Carolina
- Median income for single person: $42,352
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,936
- How many years to save up down payment: 14.4
Oklahoma
- Median income for single person: $38,142
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,285
- How many years to save up down payment: 15.9
South Carolina
- Median income for single person: $40,063
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,706
- How many years to save up down payment: 14.9
Tennessee
- Median income for single person: $40,831
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $6,958
- How many years to save up down payment: 14.4
Texas
- Median income for single person: $47,584
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,043
- How many years to save up down payment: 12.4
Virginia
- Median income for single person: $54,765
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $8,721
- How many years to save up down payment: 11.5
West Virginia
- Median income for single person: $32,953
- Yearly savings for 20% down payment: $5,516
- How many years to save up down payment: 18.1
Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates first found median income for a single person (defined in the American Community Survey as “non-family households”) for each state, as sourced from the 2023 American Community Survey as conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. GOBankingRates then set the down payment at 20% and assumed a person would be following the 50/30/20 rule where 20% of post-tax income goes toward savings and debt repayment. GOBankingRates then calculated how long it would take a single person in each state following the 50/30/20 rule to save for the down payment ($100,000) on a $500,000 home. From there GOBankingRates also calculated the 30-year fixed mortgage on a $500,000 home, assuming no private mortgage insurance, no homeowner’s association fees and no property tax, with a rate of 6.84% as sourced from Freddie Mac. All data was collected on and is up to date as of June 12, 2025.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Long Would It Take You To Save for a $500K Home in the South?
