Low Home Values vs. Monthly Owner Costs: Two Different Housing Questions
Compare median home values with homeowner costs for mortgaged and mortgage-free units. Census city data reveal why a low value does not define a monthly budget.
By US Cities Info · · Data reviewed
Pittsburgh, PA has a median owner-occupied home value of $205,800, with median selected monthly owner costs of $1,472 for mortgaged units and $571 for units without a mortgage. Austin, TX has corresponding figures of $555,300, $2,679 and $1,034.
The home-value and monthly-cost measures describe different aspects of the existing owner population. None is a quote for buying a specific home. Reading them together improves a city comparison, provided you keep the survey definitions and separate mortgage-status groups intact.
Selected city comparisons from the source data
These examples illustrate the article’s comparison; they are not a national ranking. Population filters use July 2025. Survey measures use ACS 2020–2024. Dollar estimates are in 2024 dollars; percentages keep their named source universes.
| City | Median owner-occupied home value USD | Monthly owner costs: mortgage USD/month | Monthly owner costs: no mortgage USD/month | Owner-occupied share percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flint city, MI | $53,500 ±$3,158 | $1,102 ±$48 | $488 ±$17 | 53.8% ±2.0 pp 18,607 / 34,572 |
| Youngstown city, OH | $63,300 ±$3,930 | $916 ±$30 | $379 ±$16 | 56.2% ±2.0 pp 14,038 / 24,982 |
| Detroit city, MI | $83,900 ±$1,317 | $1,238 ±$24 | $525 ±$8 | 50.3% ±0.8 pp 129,895 / 257,998 |
| Pittsburgh city, PA | $205,800 ±$5,061 | $1,472 ±$39 | $571 ±$14 | 47.7% ±0.8 pp 65,856 / 138,188 |
| Chicago city, IL | $334,100 ±$2,424 | $2,339 ±$17 | $859 ±$10 | 46.0% ±0.4 pp 534,012 / 1,160,205 |
| Austin city, TX | $555,300 ±$8,017 | $2,679 ±$39 | $1,034 ±$24 | 43.4% ±0.7 pp 198,180 / 456,113 |
| Seattle city, WA | $938,600 ±$8,494 | $3,505 ±$48 | $1,166 ±$17 | 43.7% ±0.5 pp 158,945 / 363,466 |
| San Francisco city, CA | $1,394,500 ±$20,642 | At least $4,000 Open-ended median; numerical MOE not interpreted | $1,020 ±$25 | 38.2% ±0.6 pp 139,057 / 363,970 |
What the median owner-occupied home value measures
The ACS home-value estimate is based on owners’ estimates of what their property would sell for. It describes owner-occupied homes in the survey window. Homes occupied by renters are outside that median. The housing units currently for sale can have a different mix of sizes, conditions and locations from the existing owner stock.
The lowest-home-value ranking uses this same source measure, with a population cutoff and precision screen. Its lower values are a useful way to identify places for further housing research. They do not establish the cheapest current listings or predict whether a buyer will qualify for financing.
Monthly ownership costs extend beyond a mortgage payment
Selected monthly owner costs include reported mortgage and similar debt payments, real estate taxes, relevant property insurance, utilities and fuels, and applicable condominium or mobile-home costs. This historical survey definition is broader than a quoted principal-and-interest payment. It is not a complete individualized budget and should not be assumed to cover every future repair or transaction expense.
Table B25088 separates the median for units with a mortgage from the median for units without one. A mortgage-free owner can still face taxes, insurance, utility bills and other ongoing expenses. Conversely, the mortgaged median reflects existing owners’ financing arrangements, which may differ from the interest rate and purchase terms available to a newcomer.
Do not subtract these medians to estimate a mortgage payment
The mortgage and no-mortgage medians come from different groups of homes and households. Their difference is not the payment that the same household would eliminate by paying off its loan. The groups can differ in home size, property value, owner age and other characteristics that this table does not hold constant.
Likewise, dividing home value by median household income is a comparison of two city distributions, not the financial position of an individual owner. Income includes renters as well as owners. A property-level budget needs the actual purchase price, household income and expenses, while the city statistics provide background rather than a lending standard.
How tenure and open-ended medians affect comparisons
The owner-occupied share is 47.7% in Pittsburgh and 43.4% in Austin. The home-value median describes only that owner-occupied portion. The tenure percentage uses occupied housing units, not all housing units or the number of residents. A city with a larger renter population can therefore have a home-value median describing a smaller segment of its households.
Some source medians are reported in open-ended categories. San Francisco’s mortgaged monthly owner-cost median is At least $4,000, not a precise payment of $4,001. We retain the interval wording and exclude that observation from exact-value chart bars. Treating the encoded value as ordinary dollars would imply false precision.
All dollar figures use the ACS 2020–2024 window in 2024 dollars. The table shows 90% MOEs where numerically available. Raise the population minimum and sort by either monthly-cost group to see how the comparison differs from the home-value ordering. The exported file keeps each measure, definition and uncertainty rather than collapsing them into a single affordability score.
Explore the city data
Search the underlying covered-city observations, narrow the state and population, and choose a measure to sort. The table includes missing and open-ended values when another measure is available. The chart draws only usable exact values for the chosen measure; intervals are never treated as precise amounts.
Loading the full city explorer. The selected source observations above are available without JavaScript.
| City | Population · July 2025 | Median owner-occupied home value USD | Monthly owner costs: mortgage USD/month | Monthly owner costs: no mortgage USD/month | Owner-occupied share percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The interactive table requires JavaScript. Source examples are published above. | |||||
Measures and source universes
- Median owner-occupied home value
- Owner-occupied housing units · B25077_001 · USD
- Monthly owner costs: mortgage
- Owner-occupied units with a mortgage · B25088_002 · USD/month
- Monthly owner costs: no mortgage
- Owner-occupied units without a mortgage · B25088_003 · USD/month
- Owner-occupied share
- Occupied housing units · B25003_002 / B25003_001 · percent
Survey percentages use approximate subset-ratio MOEs from the retained count cells. Population and Gazetteer calculations have no numerical sampling MOE here. Read the calculations and limitations before comparing small differences.
Sources and reproducible analysis
This article uses retained original Census records, joined by exact place GEOID. The data review date is September 30, 2026. Population uses Vintage 2025 estimates; survey observations use ACS 2020–2024. Our calculations describe the covered place universe, with no substitution of county or metropolitan figures. The original records and release manifest are available through data downloads.
- ACS B25077: median owner-occupied home value
- ACS B25088: monthly owner costs by mortgage status
- ACS B25003: housing tenure
- 2024 ACS housing definitions
Methods and uncertainty explain derived shares, open-ended medians and geographic compatibility. Report a correction with the figure, source and article address. Statistics do not represent personal resident experiences or a universal assessment of a place.
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