Where Firefighters and Teachers Can Live Large

If you’re a firefighter, the best place for home shopping is Riverside, CA, where you’ll make a median annual income of $107,000. That's about $78,000 more per year than the average worker there, according to Zillow's new affordability analysis. Residents of Riverside typically spend about 26 percent of their income on housing, which allows firefighters to afford a home priced as high as $653,000 - almost every home on the market.

Firefighters in Charlotte, NC are seeing quite the opposite. Their salaries are much lower than in Riverside - $41,000 per year - and people in North Carolina typically spend a smaller chunk of their income on housing. A firefighter’s home shopping budget tops out at $180,000, making more than half of the listings on the market unaffordable.

Zillow also looked at affordability for teachers, lawyers, construction workers and food-service workers, and found that Buffalo, NY is the most affordable place to live for both lawyers and construction workers. Lawyers in Buffalo bring in a median income of $89,000 per year, and construction workers bring in a median of $35,000 per year. Residents in Buffalo have historically spent about 19 percent of their income on housing, making almost 95 percent of listings affordable for lawyers, and about 63 percent of listings affordable for construction workers.

Here's a list of the best and worst places to shop for houses for single-earners in each of these five occupations:

Firefighters

Best: Riverside, CA. The median income for a firefighter here is $107,000 per year, with 26 percent of it going toward housing. The maximum home price that's affordable at this income level is $653,000, which includes 90.94 percent of the listings on the market.

Worst: Charlotte, NC. Firefighters make a median income of $41,000, and 19 percent of that goes toward housing. They can afford to spend up to $180,000 on a home, which covers 44 percent of listings in the area.

Teachers

Best: Bakersfield, CA. Teachers in Bakersfield bring home a median income of $61,000 per year. They spend 22 percent of that on housing and can afford a $310,000 home. That's 86 percent of listings on the market.

Worst: Provo, UT. The yearly median income for teachers in Provo is $32,000, and they have historically spent 22 percent of it on housing each month. They can afford up to a $171,000 home, which accounts for only 24 percent of listings on the market.

Lawyers

Best: Buffalo, NY. Lawyers in Buffalo bring home a median yearly income of $89,000. Historically, residents spent 19 percent of income on housing, which allows lawyers here to afford a $403,000 home - which represents 95 percent of listings.

Worst: Springfield, MA. The yearly median income for a lawyer in Springfield is $29,000. Residents can expect to spend 24 percent of their income on housing each month. This means a lawyer can afford a $165,000 home, or 37 percent of listings on the market.

Construction workers

Best: Buffalo, NY. The yearly median income for a construction worker here is $35,000. Historically, residents have spent 19 percent of their income on housing per month. The maximum home affordable for construction workers is $159,000. This is 63 percent of the listings on the market.

Worst: Portland, OR. The median income in Portland for construction workers is $27,000, with 22 percent of it going toward housing. They can afford a $142,000 home, which covers only 9 percent of listings in the area.

Food-service workers

Best: Las Vegas, NV.  The median income for a food-service worker in Las Vegas is $25,000 per year, and they spend 25 percent of it on housing each month. They can afford a $144,000 home - 43 percent of the listings on the market.

Worst: Salt Lake City, UT. The median income for Salt Lake City food-service workers is just $12,000 per year. Twenty-two percent of their income is spent on housing each month, so they'll be able to afford a $61,000 home. This is just 1.5 percent of the listings on the market.

See the full report on Zillow Research.

from Zillow Blog - Real Estate Market Stats, Celebrity Real Estate, and Zillow News http://www.zillow.com/blog/firefighter-teacher-afford-homes-184869/
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