Los Angeles and Orange County Rank as Most Unaffordable Housing Markets

Jonathan Lansner, a business columnist for the Southern California News Group, identified the Los Angeles and Orange County metro area as the most unaffordable housing market in the United States. The analysis utilized data from Zillow to evaluate 50 large U.S. markets using three specific metrics: the percentage of affordable home listings where payments do not exceed 30% of income, the rent-to-income ratio, and the share of families living with other families.

Los Angeles and Orange County ranked lowest overall, with only 5% of listings deemed affordable and rents consuming 34% of local incomes. California dominated the most unaffordable rankings, accounting for six of the eight least affordable markets in the nation. Other California markets included in this group are San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, the Inland Empire, and Sacramento. Outside of California, only Boston and New York appeared among the eight most unaffordable markets.

Conversely, St. Louis was identified as the most affordable market in the country. In that market, 59% of homes for sale were considered affordable, and the rent-to-income ratio stood at 20%.