Washington, D.C., October 12, 2026 – The income needed to afford a typically priced home in Georgia more than doubled in just five years, dramatically outpacing wage growth and putting homeownership beyond reach for a growing share of the state’s workforce, according to new research from the National Housing Conference (NHC). The findings are part of NHC’s second annual Priced Out: When a Good Job Isn’t Enough report, which examines how the widening gap between wages and housing costs is reshaping affordability for nearly 300 occupations across 390 metropolitan areas.
Across Georgia’s metropolitan areas, the average annual income needed to qualify for a typically priced home with a 10% down payment climbed from $42,418 in 2020 to $90,644 in 2025—a 113% increase. Over the same period, the average annual salary among occupations analyzed rose just 27.3%, from $48,026 to $61,129.
The gap was evident across the state. In Gainesville, a household needed approximately $130,409 in annual income to afford a typically priced home in 2025, followed by $129,005 in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, $122,366 in Athens-Clarke County and $118,336 in Savannah.
“Georgia’s numbers illustrate the fundamental affordability challenge facing working families: housing costs have moved far faster than paychecks,” said David M. Dworkin, President and CEO of NHC. “When the income needed to buy a home more than doubles in five years while wages rise by a fraction of that amount, even workers with good jobs are going to be priced out. That is not just a housing problem, it’s an economic problem. It undermines employers’ ability to attract workers, families’ ability to build wealth, and the strength of Georgia’s economy.”
The workers priced out of homeownership were not limited to lower-wage occupations. Among the highest-paid occupations that lost homeownership affordability since 2020 were postsecondary education administrators earning $128,620, veterinarians earning an average of $122,040, and transportation, storage, and distribution managers earning $115,520. In 2020, these occupations could afford a typically priced home in markets including Atlanta, Gainesville, and Savannah. By 2025, they could not.
Georgia renters also faced significant losses. The state saw a 16.48 percentage-point decline in the share of occupations able to afford a two-bedroom apartment without being cost burdened between 2020 and 2025, including a 9.75 percentage-point decline since 2023. The average income needed to afford a two-bedroom rental across Georgia increased from approximately $33,831 in 2020 to $51,969 in 2025. In Atlanta, the income threshold reached $73,200, up from $46,680 five years earlier.
“Georgia’s affordability challenge reaches well beyond one city or one segment of the workforce,” said Dworkin. “The answer is not simply telling workers they need to earn more when housing costs are rising far faster than their paychecks. Georgia needs more housing at a range of price points, fewer unnecessary barriers that make homes more expensive to build, and coordinated policies that allow housing supply to keep pace with jobs and population growth.”
The research tracked affordability across thousands of combinations of occupations and metropolitan areas — for example, “a registered nurse in Phoenix” or “a teacher in Cleveland.” Nationally, the average annual salary among occupations that lost the ability to purchase was $70,283. The number of metropolitan areas requiring an annual salary above $100,000 to afford a typically priced home rose to 193 in 2025, compared to 30 in 2019.
Renters are also losing ground. In 2025, 45,833 occupation–metro combinations could afford a two-bedroom apartment without being cost burdened, 5,989 fewer than in 2020. Nearly half of the occupation–metro combinations tracked could not afford a two-bedroom rental in 2025, and 38 metropolitan areas required an annual salary above $75,000 to do so.
NHC’s analysis draws on its Paycheck to Paycheck database, which combines occupational wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, typical home values from Zillow, and Fair Market Rents from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The database compares annual wages and housing costs for nearly 300 occupations across 390 metropolitan statistical areas, showing where workers can—or cannot—afford typical housing. To see how rising costs are affecting your community, visit the Paycheck to Paycheck database at www.nhc.org/paycheck-to-paycheck.
NOTE TO EDITORS AND REPORTERS: NHC can provide customized data and analysis for your metropolitan area.
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About the National Housing Conference (NHC): Founded in 1931, the National Housing Conference is the oldest and broadest housing coalition in America. NHC is a diverse continuum of affordable housing stakeholders who convene and collaborate through dialogue, advocacy, research, and education, to develop equitable solutions that serve our common interest—an America where everyone is able to live in a quality, affordable home in a thriving community. Politically diverse and nonpartisan, NHC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. To learn more about NHC, visit www.nhc.org.