Midwest must mean a bit west of the middle and that's truly where Minnesotans live. They're a bit west of the middle of the road. So, it's not at all surprising to find that our housing affordability ranks a bit south of the middle as well. According to BizJournals.com the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington metro area combined housing market is 57th in affordability with 29.1% of the household income being spent on the housing payment. The median mortgage payment per month is $1,273 taken from a median monthly household income of $4,974. That's Minnesota for you. Right smack dab in the middle of the road.
If you're a Minnesotan and want to buy a mansion for a house payment less than the current Minneapolis St. Paul median payment, check out the pictures of the 10 most affordable markets here. If you want to feel better about how much your dollar can buy in Minneapolis and St. Paul, check out the 10 costliest housing markets as well.
Steve,
I haven't done the research but one of the folk lores is that Minnesotans pay very high taxes to support our good roads, subsidy programs, and education system. I'm sure the fact/fiction to that rumor can be validated on the internet.
Posted by: Bonnie Erickson | March 08, 2007 at 08:33 PM
Pursuant to this: I've heard a lot about the areas in which the Twin Cities are cheaper than the rest of the country (housing, energy, a few others). What aspects of life are more expensive, though?
--Steve
Posted by: Stephen Gross | March 08, 2007 at 05:48 PM