Buying a home has become harder for young adults in most U.S. metro areas, but several Upstate New York markets remain among the more affordable options, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis.
Pew found that 89% of adults younger than 40 say it is harder for young adults today to buy a home than it was for their parents' generation.
The report compared median home values with median household income for households headed by people under 40. The analysis ranked 160 metro areas with available data from the 2024 American Community Survey.
Utica-Rome ranked as the most affordable metro in the analysis, with a price-to-income ratio of 2.4. Syracuse also landed in the top 10 most affordable metros, with a ratio of 2.6, while Rochester was listed at 2.7.
The most affordable metros were spread across New York, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The least affordable metros were concentrated in California and Hawaii.
Pew said young adults are facing rising costs and a challenging job market that can make basic expenses harder to manage and homeownership feel further out of reach.
The center said its price-to-income ratio was based on median home value and size-adjusted household income, scaled to reflect a three-person household headed by someone under 40.
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