Document Type

Report

Publication Date

10-2018

Abstract

The Omaha-Council Bluffs metro is among the top 10 metros when it comes to affording a home according to an analysis of median home value compared to median household income for owner-occupied housing units conducted by the Center for Public Affairs Research.

The estimated median home value for owner-occupied units in 2017 for the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro was $170,200. The median household income for households in owner-occupied units was $83,144. This results in a ratio of 2.05. This means, on average, a home in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro costs about two times a household income. A ratio around 2.0 or lower is desired.

Of the top 10 metros, Omaha-Council Bluffs has both the highest estimated median home value and the highest median household income. This is a positive indicator compared to those metros that ranked higher than Omaha-Council Bluffs due to falling or slowly rising home values driven by people leaving the area. Having affordable housing due to a poor economy or out-migration is not a good trade-off.

Housing affordability contributes to the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro’s lower cost of living. The bottom 10 metros from the list of 100 are places with a known high cost of living, such as California and Hawaii. The bottom five metros have ratios of 5.90 or higher, or around three times that of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro.

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