# House prices vs median household income | PIER20 benchmarks

Have home prices outpaced what a typical household earns?

The house prices vs income benchmark compares the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index with US median household income, both rebased to 100 at their shared start. A house-price line above the income line means housing costs have grown faster than what a typical household earns; below means income has kept pace or gained. It tracks housing affordability over time.

As of **2024**, the Case-Shiller US home price index line stands at **485.1** and the Median household income line at **321.3** (both base = 100 at the shared start). The Case-Shiller US home price index line is up 5.1% over the past year and above its long-run median of 215.6.

## Summary statistics (full history)

| Series | First | Latest | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case-Shiller US home price index | 100.0 | 485.1 | 100.0 | 485.1 |
| Median household income | 100.0 | 321.3 | 100.0 | 321.3 |

## Last 24 readings

| Date | Case-Shiller US home price index | Median household income |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 170.8 | 162.0 |
| 2002 | 184.6 | 162.7 |
| 2003 | 201.9 | 166.2 |
| 2004 | 227.1 | 170.1 |
| 2005 | 259.2 | 177.8 |
| 2006 | 276.9 | 185.0 |
| 2007 | 271.6 | 192.7 |
| 2008 | 247.6 | 193.0 |
| 2009 | 224.2 | 191.0 |
| 2010 | 218.4 | 189.1 |
| 2011 | 210.2 | 192.1 |
| 2012 | 212.8 | 195.8 |
| 2013 | 233.2 | 205.6 |
| 2014 | 248.6 | 205.9 |
| 2015 | 259.9 | 216.9 |
| 2016 | 273.1 | 226.6 |
| 2017 | 288.8 | 234.6 |
| 2018 | 305.6 | 242.4 |
| 2019 | 316.1 | 263.6 |
| 2020 | 335.2 | 261.0 |
| 2021 | 392.4 | 271.6 |
| 2022 | 450.3 | 286.2 |
| 2023 | 461.5 | 309.3 |
| 2024 | 485.1 | 321.3 |

## How to read this benchmark

**What a high reading means.** When the house-price line climbs well above the income line, homes have become less affordable: the same job buys less house than it used to. Such gaps have opened during periods of loose mortgage credit, low real rates or supply-constrained construction. When the lines converge or cross, affordability is improving, either because prices are falling or incomes are catching up.

**Why median household income as the comparator.** Median household income is the Census Bureau's measure of what a typical US household earns in a year, so it is the natural affordability benchmark for a typical home. Comparing house prices to income, both in nominal current dollars, isolates the affordability question from inflation: it asks whether houses have gotten more expensive relative to earnings, not whether prices have risen in dollar terms.

**Limitations.** The Case-Shiller national index is published by S&P Dow Jones Indices and used here with attribution; it tracks repeat sales of single-family homes and excludes new construction and condos, so it understates the full housing market. Median household income is annual and shown as a step at each year, so the within-year comparison is approximate. Neither series reflects mortgage rates, which determine the actual monthly payment a buyer faces. Treat the chart as context for affordability trends, not investment advice.

**Historical extremes.** On the rebased scale (100 at the 1987 start), house prices peaked near 485 in 2024 while median income reached roughly 321, so housing has outpaced income by a factor of about 1.5 over the window. The widest affordability gap on record opened during the 2005-2006 housing bubble, when prices ran far ahead of income before the 2007-2009 crash brought them back. The current gap exceeds even that bubble peak in indexed terms, though mortgage rates and lending standards differ.

## How this benchmark is used

**Housing affordability tracking.** Housing economists and policymakers use the price-to-income spread as a long-run affordability gauge, complementing the more timely price-to-rent and mortgage-payment-to-income ratios. It answers a direct question: have homes gotten more or less affordable for a typical earner over time.

**Housing bubble identification.** The 2000s bubble-and-crash is the clear case where the price-to-income spread ran far above its historical norm, signalling that prices had decoupled from the income base that supports them. Strategists watching for similar regime breaks today use the spread's deviation from its long-run average as one input, alongside mortgage delinquency rates and lending standards.

**Real estate and homebuilder positioning.** Real estate investors and homebuilder equity analysts use the affordability trend to gauge demand conditions: a widening gap suppresses first-time buyer demand and shifts the market toward remodels and rentals, while a narrowing gap supports entry-level new construction. The direction of the spread matters more than the level for these calls.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the current house prices vs median household income?**

As of 2024, the Case-Shiller US home price index line stands at 485.1 and the Median household income line at 321.3 (both base = 100 at the shared start). The Case-Shiller US home price index line is up 5.1% over the past year and above its long-run median of 215.6.

**How often is this benchmark updated?**

This benchmark is built on annual data. The page is refreshed when the source publishes new observations; the freshness block below the chart shows the exact data-through date and when PIER20 last fetched the file.

**What data sources does this chart use?**

The chart is built from Case-Shiller US home price index and Median household income, sourced from Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED).

**Have house prices outpaced household income?**

Yes. Since 1987 the Case-Shiller national home price index has risen roughly 385% while median household income has risen roughly 221%, so housing has outpaced income by a factor of about 1.5. The 2024 reading shows the widest affordability gap in the dataset, exceeding even the 2005-2006 housing-bubble peak in indexed terms.

**What is the highest and lowest the price-to-income spread has reached?**

Because both series are rebased to 100 at the 1987 start, the spread is widest when prices have run furthest ahead of income. The current window, with house prices near 485 and income near 321 on the rebased scale, is the largest gap on record. The spread narrowed sharply during the 2007-2009 crash as prices fell while income held up.

**How is this different from price-to-rent?**

Price-to-rent compares house prices to rental rates, asking whether buying is expensive relative to renting. Price-to-income compares house prices to household earnings, asking whether homes are affordable for a typical buyer. The two can diverge when rents and incomes move differently, as they did during the 2010s when rents rose faster than incomes.

**Does this account for mortgage rates?**

No. The chart compares house prices to household income only, and ignores mortgage rates, which determine the actual monthly payment a buyer faces. A given price-to-income gap is more affordable at a 3% mortgage than at a 7% mortgage. Mortgage rates are tracked separately by the rates-and-credit benchmarks.

## Methodology

- Formula: Index CSUSHPISA (annual midpoint) and MEHOINUSA646N to 100 at the shared start
- Frequency: Annual
- Sources: Case-Shiller US home price index (CSUSHPISA) https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CSUSHPISA; Median household income (MEHOINUSA646N) https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA646N. Data via Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED).
- Data through: 2024
- Last refreshed: 11 Aug 2026

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- [Corporate debt / GDP](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/corporate-debt-to-gdp)
- [Nominal GDP vs real GDP](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/nominal-vs-real-gdp)
- [Federal surplus or deficit / GDP](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/federal-deficit-to-gdp)
- [Wages vs consumer prices](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/wages-vs-cpi)

Full interactive chart: https://pier20.com/benchmarks/house-prices-vs-income
Disclaimer: research software output, not investment advice.