Just as the amount of groceries you can buy with $100 will differ between downtown New York and rural Ohio, the type of housing you can afford will also differ depending on local purchasing power. Due to regional price level variations, $100 in some cities is worth more than in other cities, leading to some home buyers being able to purchase more for less.
As calculated by the Tax Foundation, $100 in Los Angeles is actually worth $88.40 when adjusted for the area’s cost of living compared to the US average, while in Tulsa it’s the equivalent of $110.50. This means homebuyers in high-cost cities like Los Angeles get less for their money, whereas buyers in places like Tulsa can afford more.
Zoocasa analyzed home prices across 100 major cities, adjusting for cost-of-living differences using the Tax Foundation’s real value of $100. The result is a more realistic comparison of home affordability nationwide. Adjusted home prices were scaled to reflect the diminished or enhanced purchasing power in each city compared to a baseline, where $100 retains its full nominal value.
How Local Purchasing Power Effects the Perceived Cost of Homes
In the most extreme cases, where the real value of $100 is equivalent to less than $90, purchasing a home can be significantly more costly than the sticker price suggests. This doesn’t mean that home buyers will be surprised with a higher bill after finding a home they want to buy. Rather, these adjusted home prices reflect local purchasing power, illustrating how accessible or prohibitive home prices feel to local buyers considering their area’s cost of living.
Homeownership is even more expensive in San Francisco, where $100 feels like just $84.80. The median home price of $1.3M effectively feels like $1.5M (over $200,000 more) when adjusted for reduced purchasing power. This gives a better example of how challenging it can be to buy a home in a place with a high cost of living.
In many of California’s most popular cities, the value of $100 is much less than in the Southwest or Midwest. San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Oxnard all have low purchasing power where the real value of $100 is less than $90. Local buyers in these cities have reduced purchasing power which is reflected in their respective adjusted home prices.
In cities with low purchasing power, each dollar buys less, making homes that are already high-priced feel even more expensive relative to areas where the dollar stretches further. For instance, in Miami, $100 can purchase approximately $89.70 of goods, but in Tampa, where the value of $100 is $100.30, the same amount can buy slightly more than its nominal value. This higher purchasing power in Tampa allows home buyers to get more value for their money. Conversely, in Miami, the lower purchasing power makes a $635,000 home feel as if it costs $707,915.
The High Purchasing Power Cities of the Midwest and Southwest
Buyers living in cities with high purchasing power can generally afford more than the national average. Those purchasing homes in much of the Midwest and Southwest enjoy greater affordability, making the real cost of buying a home feel less burdensome compared to cities with low purchasing power.
In Wichita and Little Rock, where $100 can buy approximately $112.10 worth of goods, a home priced at $227,200 feels more like it costs $202,676, stretching buyers' dollars further than in most other places.
Among 100 cities, Toledo boasts the lowest median home price at $187,500, and thanks to its high purchasing power, this amount feels even more affordable to local buyers. Similarly, due to the high purchasing power in Little Rock and Akron, homes priced at $217,000 and $209,600, respectively, will feel like they cost under $200,000 in each city. This makes it more accessible to buy a home.
Despite many of these cities having lower incomes, the high purchasing power can help mitigate the impact of those lower incomes by making everyday expenses and housing more affordable. Whereas in cities like San Francisco, known for high wages, the low purchasing power means that even these higher incomes are not sufficient to offset the high cost of living.
Buyers should carefully consider the real purchasing power of their income when deciding where to move. Cities with higher purchasing power can offer more home for less money, while cities with lower purchasing power, despite having higher incomes, may present greater affordability challenges. Understanding the true cost of living in various cities can help you determine where your money will stretch the furthest, aiding your journey towards homeownership.
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