The Skinny on Middle-Class Homeownership

In a study tackling affordability for the spectrum of middle class buyers, online loan marketplace LendingTree broke out the data by lower-, middle-, and upper-middle class subgroups.

The data show that lower-middle class families can afford a median-priced home in 34 of the nation’s largest metros, and can afford housing options in most of the biggest U.S. metros. Dallas, Houston, and Minneapolis were the metros where middle-middle class buyers have the best chance affording a median-priced home.

A family can be considered part of the of the middle class if their household earns between two-thirds to double the national median income, after incomes have been adjusted for household size, according to the Pew Research Center. Obviously, people on the ends of this spectrum can experience significantly different challenges in their day-to-day lives, so it doesn’t necessarily make sense to always lump them into the same category.

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