BILLINGS — A new report on the housing crisis in America shows that across 90% of the country, the increase in home prices over the past five years has outpaced income growth.
The research by Construction Coverage looked at housing affordability in U.S. cities with at least 100,000 people.
The largest gaps between home prices and income growth occurred across the West in the states of Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Arizona, where home prices outpaced wage growth by more than three times since 2014.
In Montana, the survey showed that from 2014-2019, home prices have increased 1.7 times faster than wages.
Billings, the state's largest city, was on the low end with home prices outpacing income .7 times faster. By comparison in Missoula, the only other Montana city included in the report, home prices have outpaced wages by 1.8 times.
Las Vegas had the greatest disparity between home prices and wages, with home prices increasing 6.8 times faster than wages. Salt Lake City was fourth highest, with home prices increasing 3.9 times faster than wages.
In only three states, North Dakota, Connecticut and West Virginia, did income growth actually outpace home price growth over the past five years. In Midwest and East Coast states, home prices grew more slowly relative to income.
Click here to read the original report, which includes data on more than 300 metros and all 50 states.
