The Salary You'd Have To Earn To Buy A House In The Largest US Metros, Visualized

We know that housing is the single greatest source of expense for the average American household, but depending on where you live, the money you spend on housing, either renting or buying, can vary a lot.

If you're considering buying a house, location definitely matters, as the salary required to buy a home in one of the bigger metros in the US might be anywhere between $40,000 to over $200,000.

Using data from HSH Associates, personal finance site HowMuch has created this visualization that shows how much you'll have to earn annually to be able to afford a median-priced house in the 50 largest metro areas in the US:

Among all the metro areas, San Jose requires the highest salary level. In order to own a house in Silicon Valley's largest city, you'll have to make at least $254,835 a year, while San Francisco comes second with a still-steep $198,978.

If you're looking for cheaper real estate, then maybe avoid the coasts and instead go for a metro in the south or the midwest. If you earn $40,437 a year, you can afford a house in Cleveland, while in San Jose, you'd have to nearly make six times as much.

[Read more at HowMuch]