What income is necessary to afford the typical house in Chicago? And how do those requirements compare with other major metro areas?

“Housing affordability” is a term that gets thrown around quite a bit nowadays, and for good reason; with mortgage rates at all time lows, homeownership is a possibility in even the priciest of housing markets, and owning a home is often a more cost-effective option to renting (though to be fair, such a scenario depends upon securing a mortgage amidst tight lending standards).

Yet, though homes may be relatively affordable, how much income must a homebuyer have to afford a mortgage? And how do those income levels differ across the U.S.’ many metropolitan markets? Those two questions were at the heart of a new study by HSH.com, which took median home price data from the National Association of Realtors and the average first quarter interest rate for 30-year FRMs and, assuming a 20 percent downpayment (and discounting any complementary, adjustable costs, such as taxes and insurance), calculated what kind of income a homebuyer would need to purchase a median property in that area.

So, what did HSH.com find out? What income level should you have in mind when consulting with potential clients? And how much can you brag to current clients about how affordable our housing market is? See our infographic below to find out: