Analysis: Here's the average salary needed to afford home payments in Austin

Amanda O'Donnell
aodonnell@statesman.com

People talk a lot about affordability in Austin. But how far off are you from affording a home payment in the city? 

Personal finance startup SmartAsset took a closer look. In determining the salary needed to afford a home payment in the country's 15 largest cities, SmartAsset considered five factors: home value, down payment, property tax rate, homeowners insurance and other monthly debt payments. 

READ: 2018 another record year for Austin-area housing market

According to the analysis, for Austinites to afford a home payment they must make $61,856. The report also looked at how much money those in debt would have to make to afford a home payment. If you're making $1,000 monthly payments toward your debt, you would instead need to make $95,190 to afford a home payment in Austin. 

SmartAsset reports that the median home value in Austin is $332,700, which is about half as much as the next-highest city, San Diego. San Diego's median home value is reportedly $600,300. Of the top five cities with the highest salaries needed to afford home payments, four were located in California.

Austin is the highest Texas city on the list at No. 6, followed by Fort Worth at No. 9. San Antonio ranked as No. 14. San Antonio residents reportedly need to make $28,376 to afford home payments in the city, or $33,480 less than an Austin resident. 

The No. 1 city on the list is the notoriously expensive San Francisco. According to SmartAsset, San Franciscan residents must make $172,153 to afford a home payment in the city. 

You can view SmartAsset's list in full, and read more about their data and methodology, here