These Are the Major US Cities Where Millennials Can Actually Afford to Buy a Home
If you’re a 20-something city dweller, all those Facebook posts you’re starting to see of friends buying houses is probably a bit baffling. A house? That you own? Did you, like, sell your rarest Beanie Baby or something? Buying a house in a major US city is no cheap feat. And if you’re a wannabe millennial homeowner, it’s nearly impossible in some places. But if you’re really looking to swap your rent check for a mortgage payment, loan company Earnest recently took a look at where people between the ages of 18-35 can actually afford to buy a home.
Earnest looked at 23 metropolitan cities and calculated what percentage of homeowners are millennials. Not super surprisingly, New York City and three of California’s biggest cities (Los Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco) have the smallest percentages. Additionally, San Jose has the highest ownership age, coming in at 42-years-old. Makes sense, considering it has the highest median home cost at a super chill $1,000,000.
Alright, but enough of the depressing stats. Where in the country is cool AND financially realistic? St. Louis, Minneapolis, Detroit and Salt Lake City are four cities that have the highest percentage of millennial homeownership. And as for a few other semi-affordable options, Earnest writes, “In major metro areas where median home values remain below $500,000, such as Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., 25% or more of people own their home before age 35.”
Phew, okay, so maybe we won’t have to spend the rest of our lives shelling out half our salary for a shoebox-sized studio. Unless you want to stay in SF or NYC. If that’s the case, you better start hashing out that million dollar idea ASAP. Or putting the rest of that Beanie Baby collection on eBay. It’s one or the other.
Are you one of the rare millennials who owns a home? Where do you live? Share with us on Twitter @BritandCo.
(Images via Earnest)