New data show buyers need most of their income—even in cheaper counties
Housing affordability continues to decline sharply. Despite California politicians rushing to enact tenant protections and trying to address the growing homelessness crisis, there is a reality that cannot be solved with rhetoric or policy initiatives: even the least expensive parts of California have become unaffordable for homebuyers.
This spreadsheet analyzes homebuying affordability data from Attom, which tracks the typical house hunter’s financial challenges dating back to 2005 across 36 California counties. By comparing home values, mortgage rates, and household incomes, Attom determines the share of income required for a home purchase.
Dividing those 36 counties into three groups helps illustrate how the burden of homebuying has changed from the fourth quarter of 2025 to the historic lows seen more than a decade ago—just after the Great Recession slashed prices. While affordability may be improving in early 2026, these figures underscore how far it has fallen.
First, consider California’s 12 most expensive counties, where a median of 83% of income is required to purchase a home priced at $1 million in the fourth quarter. But homebuying also consumes 83% of income in the 12 least expensive counties, where the median home price is $398,000.
Next, consider how dramatically this burden has increased since its lowest point.
In the priciest counties, the median share of income has more than doubled from a low of 37%.
In the least expensive counties, the burden has more than quadrupled from a low of 20%.
These numbers offer a stark reminder that California’s affordability crisis has spread well beyond the coast and into inland areas.
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