San Francisco has solidified its reputation as the city with the least affordable housing , where you need to earn more than $ 142,000 to afford a median-priced home . The West Coast hub of America ’ s booming tech industry was named the most unaffordable metropolitan area in the US by HSH.com , a mortgage tracking site , which estimated how much money a person must earn annually to afford the principal , interest , taxes and insurance payments in 27 metro areas across the country . The mortgage research company based its estimates on the National Association of Realtors ' fourth-quarter data for median home prices , and its own data on average interest rates for 30-year , fixed-rate mortgages and a 20 per cent downpayment . Scroll down for video . Nation 's housing market : Mortgage tracking site HSH.com estimated how much salary a person must bring in to afford the principal , interest , taxes and insurance payments in 27 metro areas across the country . Golden city : A home buyer is San Francisco has to earn $ 142,448 to keep up with monthly payments of $ 3,323 for a median-priced house . Going for a song : Pittsburgh ranked the most affordable metro area in the country for the third quarter in a row , requiring a salary of under $ 32,000 . Based on the estimates , Pittsburgh ranked the most affordable metro area in the country for the third quarter in a row , requiring a salary of under $ 32,000 . The historic ‘ Steel City ’ also had the lowest median home price at $ 135,000 , and it tied Washington DC for the lowest mortgage rate at 3.98 per cent . Potential homebuyers operating on a shoestring budget also can find affordable housing in Cleveland , St Louis and Cincinnati , where required salaries range between $ 32,010- $ 33,485 . On a national scale , with 20 per cent down , a buyer would need to earn a salary of $ 48,603.82 to afford the median-priced home . Boston , New York , Los Angeles and San Diego landed on the high end of a spectrum , requiring salaries of $ 80,000 and higher to afford homes with median prices ranging between $ 383,000- $ 493,000 . The Big Apple , which has the highest mortgage rate in the nation at $ 4.22 per cent , was the fourth most unaffordable metro area on HSH 's list , requiring homebuyers to earn $ 87,535 to meet the expense of a house with the median price of $ 393,000 . San Diego , California , retained its title as the second-most-expensive metro in the country thanks to a $ 95,432 salary requirement . Big Apple : New York City , which has the highest mortgage rate at $ 4.22 per cent , was the fourth most unaffordable metro requiring homebuyers to earn $ 87,535 . Runner up : San Diego , California , retained its title as the second-most-expensive metro in the country thanks to a $ 95,432 salary requirement . San Francisco , the home of the world 's leading tech companies like Google and Apple , which has become notorious in recent years for stratospheric real estate prices , was once again crowned the king of unaffordable housing . A median home price in the Bay Area was just under $ 743,000 last quarter , requiring a buyer to earn $ 142,448 a year just to keep up with monthly mortgage payments of $ 3,323 . The home-price gap between the San Francisco metro and Pittsburgh amounted to a whopping $ 607,000 . ‘ Home prices in metro areas throughout the country continue to show solid price growth , up 25 per cent over the past three years on average , ’ Lawrence Yun , NAR chief economist , told HSH.com . ‘ Low interest rates helped preserve affordability last quarter , but it ’ ll take stronger income gains and more housing supply to help meet the pent-up demand for buying . ’
A home buyer is San Francisco has to earn $ 142,448 to keep up with monthly payments of $ 3,323 for a median-priced house . The median price in the city was $485,700 last year, and that number will likely increase as more people move into the city. New York City , which has the highest mortgage rate at $ 4.22 per cent , was the fourth most unaffordable metro requiring homebuyers to earn $ 87,535 . Mortgage tracking site HSH.com estimated how much salary a person must bring in to afford the principal , interest , taxes and insurance payments .