Top 10 U.S. Counties for Home Affordability in Q3 2026
According to ATTOM’s Q3 2026 U.S. Home Affordability Report, homes were less affordable than historical averages in 98 percent of counties with sufficient data in the third quarter of 2026.
The report stated that monthly homeownership expenses on a median-priced home nationwide would have consumed 31.8 percent of the typical worker’s wages. In 180, or 30.9 percent, of the 583 counties analyzed, those expenses would have consumed more than 43 percent of typical wages, a benchmark considered seriously unaffordable.
The latest analysis stated that California accounted for 12 of the 25 counties where homeownership expenses consumed the largest share of typical wages in the third quarter, followed by New York with six, New Jersey with three and Hawaii with two.
ATTOM’s latest home affordability analysis revealed that the counties where homeownership expenses consumed the largest share of typical wages were Kings County, NY (expenses for a median-priced home consumed 114.1 percent of the typical resident’s wages); Santa Cruz County, CA (105.5 percent of typical wages); Marin County, CA (102.4 percent of typical wages); Orange County, CA (92.6 percent of typical wages); and Monterey County, CA (91.8 percent of typical wages).
The report also found that typical wages grew faster than home prices in 58.9 percent (343) of the 583 counties analyzed in the third quarter.
Affordability conditions varied widely across the country, with some counties offering a more favorable balance between home prices and wages. In this post, we examine data from ATTOM’s Q3 2026 U.S. Home Affordability Report to identify the 10 U.S. counties where typical wages grew faster than third-quarter home prices and the costs of owning a median-priced single-family home or condo consumed the smallest share of annualized wages. Among counties with populations of at least 100,000 and at least 50 home sales during the quarter, the most affordable were:
#10 – Mobile County, Alabama
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 19.6%
- Q3 2026 Median Sales Price: $195,000
- YoY Median Home Price Growth: -5%
- YoY Annualized Wage Growth: 3%
#9 – Sangamon County, Illinois
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 19.4%
- Q3 2026 Median Sales Price: $181,500
- YoY Median Home Price Growth: -4%
- YoY Annualized Wage Growth: 4%
#8 – Elkhart County, Indiana
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 19.3%
- Q3 2026 Median Sales Price: $185,981
- YoY Median Home Price Growth: -28%
- YoY Annualized Wage Growth: 5%
#7 – Clayton County, Georgia
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 19.0%
- Q3 2026 Median Sales Price: $213,000
- YoY Median Home Price Growth: -1%
- YoY Annualized Wage Growth: 4%
#6 – Bibb County, Georgia
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 18.5%
- Q3 2026 Median Sales Price: $158,500
- YoY Median Home Price Growth: -1%
- YoY Annualized Wage Growth: 3%
#5 – Jefferson County, Alabama
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 17.0%
- Q3 2026 Median Sales Price: $194,500
- YoY Median Home Price Growth: -7%
- YoY Annualized Wage Growth: 4%
#4 – Saint Louis City, Missouri
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 16.7%
- Q3 2026 Median Sales Price: $198,340
- YoY Median Home Price Growth: -6%
- YoY Annualized Wage Growth: 4%
#3 – Montgomery County, Alabama
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 15.7%
- Q3 2026 Median Sales Price: $155,000
- YoY Median Home Price Growth: -1%
- YoY Annualized Wage Growth: 4%
#2 – Fayette County, Pennsylvania
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 15.5%
- Q3 2026 Median Sales Price: $125,000
- YoY Median Home Price Growth: -13%
- YoY Annualized Wage Growth: 3%
#1 – Baltimore City, Maryland
- Percentage of Annualized Wages to Own: 14.9%
- Q3 2026 Median Sales Price: $175,000
- YoY Median Home Price Growth: -27%
- YoY Annualized Wage Growth: 4%
Conclusion
While affordability remains challenging across much of the country, ATTOM’s Q3 2026 Home Affordability Report reveals that these counties stand out for keeping homeownership costs relatively manageable compared with typical wages. Stronger wage growth relative to home prices also helped give buyers in these markets a more favorable affordability picture in the third quarter of 2026.
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