In-depth analysis at a county-level showed disproportionate housing prices across America, upon conducting comparative analysis with the median take-away salary per county, patterns began to emerge. Gentrification and urbanization have lead overpopulation in coastal areas, leading to a competitive and oversaturated job market, this has led to a disproportionate spike in housing prices compared to salary which has plateaued in comparison.

Other contributing factors include largely state or privately owned land; boosting home prices, large tourist income (seasonal revenue), or extremely high tax rates. Notable examples of “unaffordable” counties include Nantucket, Brooklyn, Central California.

On the other hand, counties in the Midwest and south have considerably low population density, leaving large swathes of land unoccupied. It is unsurprising remote locations have the most affordable homes, expenses would stay relatively low for the same reasons listed above, just the opposite effect.

Furthermore, there were some interesting abnormalities to note. Southern states with jobs in the mining and oil industries offered very high salaries in areas with minimal expenses and low rental costs. This led to certain “bubble” counties where the median take-home salary was significantly higher compared to home prices, causing an inverse of the effect on major urban counties.

A few notable statistics from the analysis and data set are included below for reference.

List of the counties with the highest monthly mortgage payment of Q2 2021:

1. New York County, New York: $4,656
2. Nantucket County, Massachusetts: $4,625
3. San Mateo County, California: $4,535
4. Santa Clara County, California: $4,505
5. San Francisco County, California: $4,476

List of the counties with the lowest monthly mortgage payment of Q2 2021:

1. Todd County, South Dakota: $110
2. Malette County, South Dakota: $135
3. McDowell County, West Virginia: $143
4. Kent County, Texas: $150
5. King County, Texas: $158

List of the counties with the highest median home price of Q2 2021:

1. New York County, New York: $1,227,108
2. Nantucket County, Massachusetts: $1,218,781
3. San Mateo County, California: $1,195,275
4. Santa Clara County, California: $1,187,214
5. San Francisco County, California: $1,179,676

List of the counties with the lowest median home price of Q2 2021:

1. Todd County, South Dakota: $28,896
2. Malette County, South Dakota: $35,675
3. McDowell County, West Virginia: $37,684
4. Kent County, Texas: $39,652
5. King County, Texas: $41,578