<prompt> Human: I understand why the metric is set like that, but I recently graduated and am making a 130K base salary in one of the more expensive areas to live in the USA SeattleRedmond Washington area. Looking at housing prices, the cheapest houses 3 bedroom I can find are easily above 600K. My salary is already above the median income for the area, yet housing prices in the area do not seem to reflect the actual incomes people are making based on census information. There are even 1BD apartments 920 sq ft being offered at a 2500mo rent, which seems ridiculous. One reason seems to be that housing prices here SeattleRedmond area are growing very quickly, and there is a huge influx of people flipping properties for 6 figure profits, further inflating prices already inflated by the increasing number of tech jobs. To purchase a house with a reasonable commute to my job, I would need to use at least 5x my annual salary. I will be renting for awhile to save up for a downpayment, but I would like to purchase a house within a few years. My question is: what do you do to purchase a house in an area where housing prices to not reflect the actual income people are making in that area? Is 5x my base salary a realistic approach if I use some strategy? I doubt my income is going to double in the next few years, although I do expect a reasonable percentage increase in my salary. I think my household income will need to be over 230k to reasonably afford this area, which is a bit disappointing.  <response>: Keep in mind that many many people dont own homes, ever. So those folks making 40k as a household may never own a home in Seattle, they will rent forever. What Im really saying there is that you cant use those metrics to compare. Also you need to keep in mind that many people are dual income households. Partner up with another software engineer and suddenly your purchasing party will go way up. While looking at things as a multiplier of annual income is a reasonable approach you really need to look at your specific budget. If you have no other debt and dont plan on having 3 kids, then maybe spending 5x is fine. If you want a stay a home spouse, 4 kids, and owe 200k in student loans, then that is different. Mortgage calculators are very easy to find out there, run that number thru your monthly budget and see what you think. The short answer to your question though is yes, in places like that, or Silicon Valley, even very well paid people are spending a higher percentage of their income on a house than they would if they lived in St. Louis. 