The income required to buy a median-priced home has dropped in many markets, though high housing costs have put home ownership out of reach for many workers in high-growth occupations, according to a study released this week by a housing research center.

Workers in the five highest-growth occupations — including registered nurses, retail salespersons, customer service representatives, food preparation workers and office clerks — cannot afford to buy a typical home in most of the 201 metro areas studied, according to the Center for Housing Research. The center, which receives financial support from Bank of America, the Fannie Mae Foundation, Freddie Mac, Merrill Lynch Community Development Co. LLC, and other organizations, is an affiliate of the National Housing Conference.

The “Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America” study examines housing costs and wages for workers in 60 occupations.

“Even registered nurses … are unable to purchase a median-priced home in 108 of the markets,” which represents a slight improvement compared to 114 unaffordable metro area housing markets in 2006. Registered nurses were the highest paid among the five high-growth occupations.

Customer service representatives, who were next on the list, cannot afford to buy a home in 185 of the studied markets. Retail salespersons and food preparation workers, meanwhile, are priced out of every housing market studied, while office clerks are priced out of buying a home in 196 of 201 markets studied.

A total of six housing markets became newly affordable to registered nurses in 2007 compared to 2006, while four of the studied markets became newly affordable for customer service representatives and three markets became newly affordable to office clerks.

Lima, Ohio, and Davenport, Iowa, tied for the most affordable markets, with a median home price of $87,000, followed by Springfield, Ohio, and Bay City, Mich., at $88,000; and Youngstown, Ohio, and Battle Creek, Mich., at $89,000.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×