Home values are the most visible sign of local prosperity — and inequality. In the most expensive counties, the median home costs more than $1,000,000, placing homeownership far beyond the reach of median-income families.
We ranked all US counties by median home value to identify the 25 most expensive housing markets. These counties are concentrated in a handful of metropolitan areas where demand, scarcity, and wealth concentration have driven prices to extraordinary levels.
The 25 Counties with the Highest Home Values
Ranked by median home value from highest to lowest.
| Rank | County | State | Median Home Value | Median Income | Income-to-Value Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Mateo County | California | $1,494,500 | $156,000 | 0.10x |
| 2 | Marin County | California | $1,390,000 | $142,785 | 0.10x |
| 3 | Nantucket County | Massachusetts | $1,387,000 | $119,750 | 0.09x |
| 4 | Santa Clara County | California | $1,382,800 | $159,674 | 0.12x |
| 5 | San Francisco County | California | $1,380,500 | $141,446 | 0.10x |
| 6 | Teton County | Wyoming | $1,371,900 | $112,681 | 0.08x |
| 7 | Pitkin County | Colorado | $1,131,200 | $100,318 | 0.09x |
| 8 | New York County | New York | $1,108,900 | $104,553 | 0.09x |
| 9 | Dukes County | Massachusetts | $1,104,100 | $102,348 | 0.09x |
| 10 | Alameda County | California | $1,057,400 | $126,240 | 0.12x |
| 11 | Santa Cruz County | California | $1,015,200 | $109,266 | 0.11x |
| 12 | Falls Church city | Virginia | $1,005,400 | $154,734 | 0.15x |
| 13 | Summit County | Utah | $1,000,400 | $137,058 | 0.14x |
| 14 | Orange County | California | $915,500 | $113,702 | 0.12x |
| 15 | Kings County | New York | $889,700 | $78,548 | 0.09x |
| 16 | Honolulu County | Hawaii | $873,000 | $104,264 | 0.12x |
| 17 | Arlington County | Virginia | $864,800 | $140,160 | 0.16x |
| 18 | Maui County | Hawaii | $858,600 | $95,076 | 0.11x |
| 19 | Summit County | Colorado | $850,700 | $106,255 | 0.12x |
| 20 | Napa County | California | $838,800 | $108,970 | 0.13x |
| 21 | Contra Costa County | California | $830,800 | $125,727 | 0.15x |
| 22 | Kauai County | Hawaii | $817,900 | $93,612 | 0.11x |
| 23 | Eagle County | Colorado | $814,700 | $103,174 | 0.13x |
| 24 | King County | Washington | $811,200 | $122,148 | 0.15x |
| 25 | San Diego County | California | $791,600 | $102,285 | 0.13x |
Can Anyone Afford to Live Here?
The income-to-value ratios in these counties are sobering. The traditional 3x benchmark is nowhere in sight — many of these counties have ratios of 6x, 8x, or even higher. This means that even households earning well above the national median cannot afford the median home without extraordinary financial stretching.
How do these markets sustain themselves? Three mechanisms: existing homeowners who bought decades ago and have seen massive appreciation, wealthy buyers paying cash or making enormous down payments, and dual-income professional households with salaries far above the median. For first-time buyers without significant wealth, these counties are effectively closed.
Methodology
All data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates (2019-2023). Median home value is table B25077. Counties with suppressed or missing data were excluded.
Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates (2019-2023). All figures are estimates based on survey data and may not reflect current economic conditions.