Homes Are ‘Seriously Unaffordable’ in Nearly a Third of U.S. Counties, New Report Finds

Housing affordability remains heavily strained across the United States, and housing is "seriously unaffordable" in about a third of all U.S. counties, according to a new report. Real estate analytics firm ATTOM's Q3 2026 U.S. Home Affordability Report found that major homeownership expenses exceeded historical affordability norms in 98% of the 583 U.S. counties analyzed in the third quarter, up 1% since the first quarter, when ATTOM last evaluated affordability at the beginning of this year.“Affordability remained a challenge in the third quarter, even as some of the underlying factors moved in a favorable direction,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “Home prices declined nationally, and wage growth outpaced price growth in many counties, but those gains were not enough to meaningfully improve affordability across much of the country.”ATTOM determined affordability for average wage earners by calculating the income needed to cover major monthly homeownership expenses—including mortgage payments, mortgage insurance, property taxes, and homeowners insurance—on a median-priced single-family home and condo.ATTOM then used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to determine whether a homeowner ...