Family home budgets by city.
Price-point guides from public sample reports: monthly cost, salary stress, neighborhoods in reach, and the buying discipline needed before making offers.
54 budget guides across 18 US metros — each tier stress-tested on salary alone with property tax, insurance, and maintenance. Most include a 50bp interest-rate sensitivity table where the source data supports it.
How we stress-test each family home budget
- Total monthly: P&I + property tax + insurance + maintenance
- Stress test against salary alone, no bonus assumed
- Liquid pool and take-home math from the sample report
- Interest-rate sensitivity (when data is available)
- State-specific property tax mechanics
- Neighborhoods in reach plus discipline rules
Family home budget guides for 18 metros
Austin
City guide$1.3M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Comfort stretch$1.5M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$1.65M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
SF Bay Area
City guide$1.7M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Walking-around budget$1.85M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$2.0M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Boston metro
City guide$1,200,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Walking-around budget$1,350,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$1,500,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
New York metro
City guide$1.5M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Stretch$1.7M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$1.9M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Los Angeles
City guide$1.65M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Stretch / declared ceiling$1.85M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard NO$2.05M+
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Chicago
City guide$750,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Comfort$850,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$900,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Dallas–Fort Worth
City guide$675k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Stated ceiling$750k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling (only if perfect)$825k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Houston
City guide$575k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Stated budget$650k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$725k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Atlanta
City guide$625k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Comfort stretch (stated budget)$700k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$775k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Washington, DC metro
City guide$1.05M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Budget target$1.20M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$1.35M
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Philadelphia
City guide$675k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Stated budget$750k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$825k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Miami / South Florida
City guide$800k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$900k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Walk-away$1.0M+
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Phoenix
City guide$625k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Comfort stretch$700k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$775k
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Seattle
City guide$1,400,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Walking-around budget$1,500,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$1,700,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Denver
City guide$750,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Walking-around budget$850,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$900,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Raleigh-Durham
City guide$625-650K
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Walking-around budget$700K
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$750K
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Minneapolis-St Paul
City guide$650,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Walking-around budget$700,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$750,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Salt Lake City
City guide$725,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Walking-around budget$775,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Hard ceiling$850,000
What this budget means for family neighborhoods, schools, monthly cost, and offer discipline.
Family home budget questions
How is the family home budget calculated?
Each budget tier is stress-tested against base salary alone, with property tax, insurance, and maintenance included on top of mortgage P&I. State-specific property tax mechanics are surfaced — Texas and Florida have ~2% property tax with no state income tax; California has Prop 13 protections; New York and Massachusetts vary by town. Most reports also include a 50-basis-point interest-rate sensitivity table; a few older sample reports do not yet include that table.
What does a typical family home actually cost in each metro?
Each city's sample report typically lists three budget tiers — bullseye, stretch, and hard ceiling — though some reports include more or fewer. The dollar figures vary materially: under $700k in Phoenix; $1-2M in NYC, the Bay Area, and parts of LA; $700k-$900k in Houston, DFW, and Atlanta; $1.3-1.65M in Austin and Boston suburbs.
How much should we spend on a family home?
A defensible bullseye is whatever monthly cost — including taxes, insurance, and maintenance — stays under 35-40% of net take-home on salary alone. Bonus and equity are real but unreliable; do not let them push the monthly into uncomfortable territory. The right house at the bullseye beats the dream house at the stretch budget every time.
Are these budgets one-size-fits-all?
No. The budget tiers come from a sample family with stated income, savings, and dependents. A custom report recalculates affordability against your actual numbers — your gross income, take-home, liquid down payment, debt obligations, and the property tax mechanics of your target state.