Homeownership costs exceed half of income for 15% of California owners

"Here is yet another way to look at the financial challenges of California homeownership: Recurring costs eat up more than half of household income for roughly 1 in 6 owners statewide. My trusty spreadsheet identified this affordability challenge by analyzing 2024 Census Bureau housing data for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. These latest figures detail swings in who owns their residence, how much they pay a month, and how many owner households are financially swamped by expenses. That's when mortgage payments - one-third of Californians don't have a home loan - plus items such as insurance, utilities and association dues top 50% of an owner's income."

"By this math, 15% of California owners were deeply stressed in 2024 - the highest share among the states and well above the nation's 9% slice. After California comes Florida, New York and Hawaii at 13%, and Rhode Island at 12%. Texas was No. 18 at 10%. The nation's least-stressed owners live in North Dakota, where just 5% pay 50%-plus. Next are South Dakota and Iowa at 6%, and Indiana and West Virginia at 7%."

"Despite all the economic challenges, don't forget that California is the nation's largest ownership state with 7.7 million living in their own home. Next are Texas at 7.1 million, Florida at 6.2 million, New York at 4.3 million and Pennsylvania at 3.7 million. Yet the high financial strains add up to 1.1 million California households paying more than half their income to own, also tops among the states. No. 2 is Florida at 830,700, then Texas at 700,000, New York at 539,400, and Illinois at 334,000."

Recurring ownership costs—including mortgage payments, insurance, utilities and association dues—exceed 50% of household income for 15% of California homeowners in 2024. That share is the highest among states and exceeds the national rate of 9%. California has 7.7 million owner households and 1.1 million paying more than half their income to own, representing 13% of the nation's 8.6 million highly burdened owners. Florida, New York and Hawaii follow at 13%. Nationwide contrasts include North Dakota at 5% and several Midwestern states at 6–7%. The typical Californian homeowner pays an estimated $2,280 monthly, above the $1,340 national norm.

Read at The Mercury News