New Hampshire continues to deal with a lack of housing affordability and according to Realtor.com, the state still beats out one of its most important rivals – albeit with a depressing catch. 

The minimum recommended income to purchase a median-priced home in the U.S. is between 7 percent and 151 percent higher than the median household income at the state level, according to data analysis from Realtor.com. 

While states such as Montana and Illinois are among the most affordable states in the nation, Massachusetts is second in the nation in terms of a lack of affordability. According to Realtor.com, the median listing price in the state is $732,450 with the median household income required to purchase a home sitting at $215,696. 

Compare that to New Hampshire, where the median home’s listing price is a mere $562,038 needing a family income of only $165,512. 

Connecticut and Vermont rounded out the top 15 with the Nutmeg state requiring an income of $146,161 and Vermont requiring $145,770. 

“Purchasing a median-priced home in today’s market ranges from challenging to downright impossible for median-income households,” Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones said in a statement. 

When taking off-market sales into account, the picture improves slightly for both states. 

According to The Warren Group, the publisher of The Registry Review, the median New Hampshire residential sale – a category that includes single-families, condominiums, two-families and three-families – traded hands for $485,000 in 2024. 

For Massachusetts, that figure finished 2024 at $615,000.