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Mapped: Years to Save for a Home by U.S. State
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Key Takeaways
- Saving for a 10% down payment for a home takes 8.7 years in Iowa, but climbs to 25.1 years in California.
- In Texas and Ohio, the timeline is about 10 years, well below the U.S. average.
- In California, New York, and Hawaii, saving for a home takes 20+ years.
Saving for a home down payment can take anywhere from under a decade to more than 25 years in the U.S., depending on where you live.
Based on Consumer Affairs data, this map shows how many years it takes the average household to save for a home in each state. Nationwide, the average is 14.4 years, but timelines vary dramatically by state.
In states like Iowa and Ohio, buyers can save in under a decade. In coastal markets like California and New York, timelines stretch past 20 years.
The Timeline to Homeownership Across America
Iowa ranks as the fastest state, where it takes just 8.7 years on average to save for a home. With median home prices around $247,000 in 2025—the second-lowest nationwide—the state combines relatively affordable housing with moderate incomes and taxes.
In Ohio (9.9 years) and Texas (10.3 years), meanwhile, lower home prices and more manageable tax burdens help shorten the path to ownership.
The table below shows the estimated number of years needed to save for a 10% down payment in each state, ranked from shortest to longest. Estimates are based on median incomes, taxes, living costs, and median home prices.
| Rank | State | Number of Years to Save for a Home |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa | 8.7 |
| 2 | Ohio | 9.9 |
| 3 | Texas | 10.3 |
| 4 | Maryland | 10.3 |
| 5 | North Dakota | 10.6 |
| 6 | Kansas | 10.6 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 10.7 |
| 8 | Illinois | 10.7 |
| 9 | Alaska | 10.9 |
| 10 | Indiana | 11.0 |
| 11 | South Dakota | 11.1 |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | 11.5 |
| 13 | Alabama | 11.9 |
| 14 | Minnesota | 11.9 |
| 15 | Missouri | 12.0 |
| 16 | Michigan | 12.0 |
| 17 | Nebraska | 12.0 |
| 18 | Delaware | 12.3 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 12.7 |
| 20 | Arkansas | 12.8 |
| 21 | Mississippi | 12.8 |
| 22 | Georgia | 12.9 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 12.9 |
| 24 | Virginia | 13.1 |
| 25 | New Hampshire | 13.5 |
| 26 | Louisiana | 13.7 |
| 27 | Tennessee | 13.9 |
| 28 | West Virginia | 14.1 |
| 29 | New Jersey | 14.1 |
| 30 | Nevada | 14.2 |
| 31 | Utah | 14.2 |
| 32 | Connecticut | 14.5 |
| 33 | Arizona | 14.8 |
| 34 | North Carolina | 14.8 |
| 35 | Washington | 15.3 |
| 36 | South Carolina | 15.4 |
| 37 | Idaho | 16.0 |
| 38 | Vermont | 16.3 |
| 39 | Florida | 16.5 |
| 40 | New Mexico | 17.1 |
| 41 | Colorado | 17.8 |
| 42 | Maine | 18.3 |
| 43 | Oregon | 18.6 |
| 44 | Massachusetts | 18.7 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 18.7 |
| 46 | Wyoming | 20.3 |
| 47 | Hawaii | 21.0 |
| 48 | New York | 23.1 |
| 49 | Montana | 24.4 |
| 50 | California | 25.1 |
In the most affordable parts of the country—especially across the Midwest—buyers can still save for a home in under a decade.
But in high-cost housing markets, the timeline stretches dramatically. In California, for instance, it takes over 25 years on average to save, nearly three times longer than in Iowa.
Even relatively high incomes don’t offset the gap. Despite median household earnings around $100,000, steep home prices and high taxes continue to weigh on buyers. Other expensive states—including New York, Hawaii, and Montana—also see timelines exceed 20 years.
For most Americans, the reality falls somewhere in between. Nationwide, saving for a home takes 10 to 15 years, with an average of 14.4 years.
As a result, homeownership is increasingly delayed. The median age of first-time buyers has climbed to a record 38 years old, highlighting how buying a home is becoming a longer-term financial goal.
Methodology
To estimate how long it takes to save for a home in each state, Consumer Affairs analyzed median household income alongside federal, state, and payroll taxes, as well as average annual living expenses, including housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and insurance.
From this, the remaining discretionary income available after essential costs was calculated.
Each state’s median home price was then used to estimate how many years it would take to save for a 10% down payment, assuming households save 10% of their remaining income annually. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, Tax Foundation, Redfin, and the BEA.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
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