California Home Price-to-Income Ratio Map

California Home

Price-to-Income Ratio Map

This map shows the ratio of local median home prices to metropolitan median household incomes for every jurisdiction in California. 

In general, a ratio of five or below is considered healthy. This means that the typical household has a path to homeownership. But across the Golden State—and especially in high-opportunity, climate-resilient areas—home prices are far out of reach of the typical California family.

An important caveat: This map unavoidably understates the scale of the problem. This map only depicts affordability relative to current residents. But we know that the housing crisis has already priced out many hundreds of thousands of middle- and working-class Californians. This has likely served to suppress local price-income ratios, not by lowering housing costs, but by inflating incomes. 

This map was produced by Arthur Gailes for California YIMBY as part of our new Research Bounty program. Got mapping/data/research chops? Help us better understand the California housing crisis and get rewarded today.