10 Pricey Cities, and the Salary You Need to Live in Them

Buying a home has always been a big-ticket purchase, but as CNNMoney notes, a seller's market has made being able to afford one increasingly difficult. HSH.com looked at median house prices from the National Association of Realtors for the third quarter of this year, plus the average interest rate on 30-year fixed mortgages, and came up with the minimum salary someone would need to reside in 27 major metropolitan areas around the country (that salary would allow one to reasonably afford the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance). Scrimpers might want to avoid California. Here, the top 10 most expensive cities and the needed salary, as well as the median home price and estimated monthly payment:

1. San Francisco, $152,173 ($835,400, $3,551)
2. San Diego, $108,654 ($589,300, $2,535)
3. Los Angeles, $100,147 ($536,700, $2,337)
4. Boston, $86,054 ($435,300, $2,008)
5. New York City, $85,488 ($397,600, $1,995)
6. Seattle, $81,774 ($422,100, $1,908)
7. Washington, DC, $78,460 ($393,500, $1,831)
8. Denver, $70,741 ($386,800, $1,651)
9. Portland, Ore., $69,786 ($358,500, $1,628)
10. Miami, $64,879 ($315,000, $1,514)

Check out more cities on the list at HSH.com. (The top eight US cities where your pay goes furthest.)