A home buying affordability study ranks the D.C. metro area No. 1 among the highest-paying areas where IT professionals can afford to buy a home, but that IT professionals are not the highest-paid workers in the region.
The report by real estate data firm Yardi Matrix was designed to see which occupations in which cities would combine to make the shortest time to save for a home purchase, based on local median incomes and local median home prices. It also reports on which professions in each metro area have the highest median pay.
The highest median pay by profession in the D.C. area, according to the report:
- Lawyers and judges: $185,000
- Air transportation workers: $183,000
- Marketing and sales managers: $172,000
Yardi Matrix reports the median selling home price in the D.C. metro area of $531,000, meaning employees in those professions could save for a down payment in around three years.
Math professionals have experienced the most growth in number of employees in the D.C. area in the past 10 years. Those professionals make an average of $116,000, and could save for a down payment in 4.6 years.
The D.C. area ranks No. 2 for the number of IT professionals, behind New York City, and earning an average salary of $118,000, meaning they can afford to save for a down payment in 4.5 years. The D.C. region is No. 1 among the highest-paying metro areas where computer professionals can buy a home, with an average income of $117,800.
Baltimore, where the average IT salary is $113,513 and home prices are significantly lower than D.C., ranks No. 2.
Yardi’s full report, covering salaries and times to save for a down payment, covering 58 professions, is online.
