Residential properties in 99 percent of U.S. counties analyzed in a new report were less affordable in the last three quarters of 2025 than historical averages, going back to the pre-Great Recession days of 2005.

ATTOM, a real estate data analyst, found the median price of single-family homes and condos was less affordable in 586 of 594 counties with enough data to be included in the analysis.

In Clark County, where the annual typical wage was $66,105, a buyer in the last quarter of 2025 would have had to spend 42 percent of their pay on home expenses, compared with a historical average of 31.7 percent.

Clark County was the 223rd most affordable county of the 594 analyzed in the report, while Washoe County was 220th.

A homebuyer in Washoe County, which had an annual average wage of $70,954, would have had to spend 48.4 percent of that on home expenses in the last quarter, compared with a historical average of 38.9 percent.

ATTOM determined affordability by measuring annualized weekly wage data against the income needed to pay expenses for a median-priced home, (including mortgage, taxes, insurance, and association dues) assuming a 20 percent down payment and 28 percent debt-to-income ratio.

In 43 percent of the counties analyzed in the report, median home prices grew at a greater rate than wages. In Nevada, however, wages grew faster than home prices. In the last quarter of the year annualized wages grew by 4.4 percent, while home prices increased by .7 percent.

Purchasing a home last year was least affordable in Kings County, NY, where a buyer would have to spend 103.1 percent of wages on housing expenses, followed by Marin County, CA (97.3 percent); Santa Cruz County, CA (94.4 percent); Orange County, CA (90.3 percent); and Monterey County, CA (90.3 percent).

The national median price of a home in the second and third quarter was a record high $365,000. A buyer would have had to earn $86,374 to purchase a median-priced home and keep expenses below the standard recommended threshold of 28 percent of annual income, the report says.

“Over the past five years, home price growth has nearly doubled wage growth, meaning home buying power in 2026 will depend not only on whether prices level off or decline, but also on mortgage rates and broader economic conditions,” Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, said in a news release.

In the last five years, the median sales price of a home has increased by 54 percent, while wages are up 29 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, through the second quarter of last year.

In 74 percent of the counties analyzed, home expenses exceeded the standard threshold of no more than 28 percent of the average resident’s pay, making homeownership unaffordable. Those counties include large metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, where home ownership eats up 67.5 percent of typical wages; Maricopa County, AZ (38.1 percent); San Diego (67.4 percent); Orange County (90.3 percent); and Miami-Dade County, FL (43.6 percent of wages).

In about 30 percent of the 594 counties analyzed, home purchase expenses in the fourth quarter exceeded 43 percent of the typical resident’s wages, which is considered seriously unaffordable.

The report assigns an affordability scale to each county. Those with scores under 100 are less affordable than historic averages.

That landed Clark County a 75 on the affordability scale for the quarter and an even more unaffordable 60 for the entire year.

Last year, the median price of homes in Clark County, according to the report, was $437,500 in the first quarter, topped out at $449,900 in the second quarter of 2025, and fell to $443,500 in the fourth quarter, ending the year up 1 percent from the last.

Washoe scored 80 on the affordability scale for the last quarter and 63 for the year.

In Washoe County, the median price was $539,000 in the first quarter, jumped to $555,000 in the second quarter, and ended the year at $553,209 – down 2 percent from 2024.