Interactive Map of Regional Housing Affordability

Explore our Interactive Map of Regional Housing Affordability to compare neighborhoods, cities, and regions through clear, up-to-date indicators. Discover where your budget fits, learn why costs differ, and join our community by subscribing and sharing your local insights.

Start Here: Navigating the Interactive Map

Use your mouse or trackpad to zoom and pan smoothly across regions. Click any county or neighborhood boundary to open a detailed panel with income, rent, and ownership indicators tailored to that place.

Start Here: Navigating the Interactive Map

Toggle filters for renters or owners, select household size, and adjust the time slider to see how affordability changes through economic cycles. Test scenarios, compare seasons, and bookmark the views that matter.

What Affordability Really Means

We track the ratio of median home prices to median household income and compute affordability indexes. These indicators translate market prices into everyday terms, helping you judge whether ownership feels realistic.

What Affordability Really Means

A rent burden above thirty percent of income signals stress, and above fifty percent often indicates severe hardship. Our map highlights where households cross these thresholds, clarifying risks you can plan around.

Data You Can Trust: Sources and Methods

Reliable, Regularly Updated Sources

We synthesize the American Community Survey for incomes, HUD Fair Market Rents, Zillow Observed Rent Index trends, and mortgage benchmarks from Freddie Mac. Each dataset contributes a piece of the affordability picture.

Timelines, Adjustments, and Smoothing

Indicators refresh on regular cycles, with seasonal patterns considered. We apply inflation adjustments using standard measures and smooth short-term noise so trendlines highlight real shifts, not temporary quirks.

A Teacher’s Cross-Country Reset

After years in a coastal city, a teacher compared price-to-income ratios on the map and chose a Midwestern metro. Her monthly budget finally included savings, a backyard, and time for weekend volunteer tutoring.

A Nurse Weighs Commute Versus Rent

Comparing adjacent suburbs, a nurse saw one area’s lower rent was canceled by higher gas costs and parking fees. The map’s combined expenses view revealed a closer neighborhood that truly reduced total spending.

A Small Town’s New Factory Shock

When a manufacturing plant opened, rents spiked faster than wages. Locals used our affordability layers to advocate for accessory dwelling units and inclusionary zoning, easing pressure while supporting new jobs responsibly.

Measure Zoning Reforms and ADUs

Compare affordability before and after accessory dwelling unit ordinances or reduced parking minimums. Share your city’s policy timeline in the comments so we can annotate the map and inspire evidence-based debates.

Transit, Access, and Cost of Living

Layer transit access with rent burden rates to see where frequent service softens budgets. If your region has new lines or stations, tell us what changed and help refine how the map weighs mobility benefits.

What’s Next for the Interactive Map

We are prototyping school district overlays, walkability scores, and offline snapshots for travel days. Join the beta list, test features early, and influence what ships by sharing your workflow and wish list.

What’s Next for the Interactive Map

We aim to publish summarized, privacy-safe datasets and partner with universities and newsrooms. If you are a researcher or journalist, subscribe for data releases and propose stories we can investigate together.

What’s Next for the Interactive Map

No individual records are shown; all indicators are aggregated. We welcome scrutiny, corrections, and suggestions. Take our short survey, help improve the map’s fairness, and keep the conversation constructive and inclusive.