Quick answer
With 20% down and a 6.5% 30-year mortgage, a $200,000 house needs about $53,699 in gross annual income. The estimated monthly housing cost is $1,253 before HOA dues or unusual local fees. For context, the required income is about 0.7x the roughly $75,000 US median household income.
That monthly cost breaks down to roughly $1,011 in principal & interest on the $160,000 loan, plus about $183/month in estimated property tax and $58/month in estimated insurance.
$200,000 house income table
This table shows the approximate gross annual income needed at common down payments and mortgage rates, using a 28% housing debt-to-income guideline.
| Down payment | 5.5% rate | 6.0% rate | 6.5% rate | 7.0% rate | 7.5% rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5% down | $61,457 | $64,084 | $66,774 | $69,523 | $72,328 |
| 5% down | $60,663 | $63,249 | $65,897 | $68,603 | $71,365 |
| 10% down | $58,015 | $60,465 | $62,974 | $65,538 | $68,154 |
| 15% down | $55,367 | $57,682 | $60,051 | $62,472 | $64,943 |
| 20% down | $49,291 | $51,469 | $53,699 | $55,978 | $58,303 |
| 25% down | $46,858 | $48,900 | $50,990 | $53,127 | $55,307 |
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Open affordability calculatorHow the estimate works
- Mortgage: 30-year fixed principal and interest on the $160,000 loan (20% down) comes to about $1,011/month on this $200,000 house.
- Property tax: estimated at 1.1% of the home price - about $183/month here.
- Insurance: estimated at 0.35% of the home price - about $58/month here.
- PMI: estimated when the down payment is below 20%.
- Income rule: housing cost should stay near or below 28% of gross monthly income - 28% of the $53,699 required here is about $1,253/month, matching the total monthly cost above.
Lower the income required
On this $200,000 house specifically: dropping the rate from 7.5% to 5.5% lowers the required income by about $9,012/year, and raising the down payment from 3.5% to 25% lowers it by about $15,784/year (smaller loan, and PMI drops off at 20%). You can also compare the payment directly on the $200,000 mortgage payment table.
This table focuses on income, down payment, mortgage rate, property tax, insurance, PMI and housing debt-to-income math.