When it comes to the ease of paying off a home mortgage, location matters.
Personal finance site SmartAsset did a survey of the 40 largest metro cities in the U.S. to determine which cities are the easiest and hardest to succeed in paying off a mortgage.
The site used mortgage data for 2023 to determine the median principal and interest payments on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which was then compared to the median income of these new homeowners. The site also analyzed each city's income-to-housing payment ratio.
According to the site, mortgages are easiest to pay off in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
"The median new homeowner in Pittsburgh has an income of $101,000, making it easiest to pay off the $1,377 monthly principal and interest. The mortgage works out to be 16.4% of the household’s gross income," the analysis noted.
On the other hand, SmartAsset found that Mortgages are the hardest to pay off in California metro areas.
"The five places where it's hardest to pay off a mortgage are all in the Golden State: The San Jose metro ranks last with the $6,588 principal and interest payment taking up 29.2% of the homeowner's gross $271,000 income," the report says. "San Diego (28.6%), Los Angeles (28.4%), San Francisco (27.2%), and Riverside (26.9%) metros are the next most expensive for new homeowners."
The analysis also found that interest rates on new mortgages are highest in the Virginia Beach metro area, at 7.38%. In comparison, the Austin, Texas metro area has the lowest interest rates for new homeowners, at 6.5%.
The easiest metro areas to pay off a mortgage, with each area's income-to-housing payment ratio, are:
1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: 16.4%
2. Houston/The Woodlands/Sugar Land, Texas: 17.1%
3. Detroit/Warren/Dearborn, Michigan: 17.5%
4. Cleveland/Elyria, Ohio: 17.6%
5. San Antonio/New Braunfels, Texas: 17.7%
6. St. Louis, Missouri: 17.9%
7. Milwaukee/Waukesha, Wisconsin: 18%
8. Philadelphia/Camden/Wilmington, Pennsylvania/New Jersey/Delaware: 18.5%
9. Cincinnati, Ohio: 18.7%
10. Austin/Round Rock/Georgetown, Texas: 19.1%
The hardest metro areas to pay off a mortgage are:
1. San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, California: 29.2%
2. San Diego/Chula Vista/Carlsbad, California: 28.6%
3. Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim, California: 28.4%
4. San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley, California: 27.2%
5. Riverside/San Bernardino/Ontario, California: 26.9%
6. Portland/Vancouver/Hillsboro, Oregon/Washington: 26%
7. Denver/Aurora/Lakewood, Colorado: 25.8%
8. Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue, Washington: 25.7%
9. Sacramento/Roseville/Folsom, California: 25.1%
10. Las Vegas/Henderson/Paradise, Nevada: 25.1%