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2026-03-26 22:19:47

Mapped: Where $200K Incomes Are Most Common in America

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Earning $200,000 a year may sound like a high bar, but in some parts of the U.S., it’s far more common than you might expect.

In Washington, D.C., 26.6% of households earn $200K+, more than double the national average of 12.5%. In many Northeastern and West Coast states, the share is closer to 20%.

This map, based on the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, shows where $200K incomes are concentrated, and where they remain relatively rare.

The Top States for Households Earning $200K and Above

In the highest-ranking parts of the country, $200K household incomes are increasingly common. D.C. leads at 26.6%, while Massachusetts (22.5%), New Jersey (21.8%), California (21.0%), and Maryland (20.8%) all exceed 20%.

At the top end, the share of $200K households is roughly 3–4 times higher than in the lowest-ranking states.

While Texas has the second-highest number of $200K households after California, exceeding 1.5 million, its share still trails wealthier coastal states, at 13.2%.

A similar pattern is seen in Florida (11.9%), which also falls below the national average. Despite an influx of wealthy residents during the pandemic, drawn by its tax advantages, most households fall within the $75,000 to $99,999 income bracket.

Where High Incomes Are Least Common

At the other end of the spectrum, $200K incomes make up a small share of households:

• West Virginia: 5.9%
• Mississippi: 6.0%
• Arkansas: 6.6%

Seven of the 10 lowest-ranking states are in the South, highlighting a persistent regional income divide.

West Virginia, for instance, has one of the lowest median household incomes nationally, at $60,789 in 2024. Mississippi, meanwhile, saw real median household incomes grow just 5.6% between 2010 and 2024, far below the national average of 22%.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the number of billionaires in every U.S. state.

2026-03-26 20:02:07

Mapped: The World’s Riskiest Markets in 2026

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Not all markets offer the same tradeoff between risk and return.

This map shows equity risk premiums around the world—based on estimates from NYU professor Aswath Damodaran. These premiums reflect the extra return investors demand to invest in each country, with higher values signaling greater perceived risk.

The gap is stark. While a handful of stable economies sit near 4–5%, countries facing conflict or economic collapse can exceed 30%, highlighting how dramatically risk perceptions diverge across global markets.

The World’s Riskiest Countries

Check out the data, which is as of January 2026, although Türkiye was updated in February:

Country	Equity Risk Premium
Belarus	30.9%
Lebanon	30.9%
Sudan	30.9%
Venezuela	30.9%
Bolivia	19.8%
Cuba	19.8%
Myanmar	19.8%
North Korea	19.8%
Sri Lanka	19.8%
Syria	19.8%
Ukraine	19.8%
Yemen	19.8%
Ecuador	17.2%
Haiti	17.2%
Malawi	17.2%
Mozambique	17.2%
Niger	17.2%
Somalia	17.2%
Ethiopia	15.9%
Gabon	15.9%
Guinea	15.9%
Laos	15.9%
Liberia	15.9%
Maldives	15.9%
Mali	15.9%
Republic of Congo	15.9%
Zambia	15.9%
Zimbabwe	15.9%
Argentina	13.9%
Belize	13.9%
Burkina Faso	13.9%
Cameroon	13.9%
Egypt	13.9%
Ghana	13.9%
Guinea-Bissau	13.9%
Iran	13.9%
Iraq	13.9%
Kenya	13.9%
Pakistan	13.9%
Senegal	13.9%
Solomon Islands	13.9%
Suriname	13.9%
Tunisia	13.9%
Angola	12.6%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	12.6%
DRC	12.6%
El Salvador	12.6%
Kyrgyzstan	12.6%
Madagascar	12.6%
Moldova	12.6%
Nigeria	12.6%
Sierra Leone	12.6%
St. Vincent & the Grenadines	12.6%
Tajikistan	12.6%
Togo	12.6%
Uganda	12.6%
Bahrain	11.4%
Bangladesh	11.4%
Barbados	11.4%
Cambodia	11.4%
Cape Verde	11.4%
Gambia	11.4%
Nicaragua	11.4%
Papua New Guinea	11.4%
Rwanda	11.4%
Swaziland	11.4%
Algeria	10.1%
Bahamas	10.1%
Benin	10.1%
Cook Islands	10.1%
Fiji	10.1%
Honduras	10.1%
Mongolia	10.1%
Montenegro	10.1%
Namibia	10.1%
Tanzania	10.1%
Albania	8.9%
Armenia	8.9%
Jamaica	8.9%
Jordan	8.9%
Macedonia	8.9%
Nepal	8.9%
Türkiye	8.9%
Uzbekistan	8.9%
Costa Rica	8.1%
Côte d'Ivoire	8.1%
Dominican Republic	8.1%
Georgia	8.1%
Libya	8.1%
Russia	8.1%
Serbia	8.1%
South Africa	8.1%
St. Maarten	8.1%
Trinidad and Tobago	8.1%
Vietnam	8.1%
Brazil	7.5%
Guatemala	7.5%
Morocco	7.5%
Sharjah	7.5%
Aruba	7.1%
Azerbaijan	7.1%
Colombia	7.1%
Curacao	7.1%
Greece	7.1%
India	7.1%
Mauritius	7.1%
Montserrat	7.1%
Oman	7.1%
Panama	7.1%
Paraguay	7.1%
Romania	7.1%
Hungary	6.7%
Indonesia	6.7%
Italy	6.7%
Mexico	6.7%
Philippines	6.7%
Andorra	6.3%
Botswana	6.3%
Bulgaria	6.3%
Guyana	6.3%
Israel	6.3%
Kazakhstan	6.3%
Peru	6.3%
Thailand	6.3%
Turks and Caicos Islands	6.3%
Uruguay	6.3%
Croatia	5.8%
Cyprus	5.8%
Latvia	5.8%
Malaysia	5.8%
Portugal	5.8%
Slovakia	5.8%
Slovenia	5.8%
Spain	5.8%
Bermuda	5.3%
Chile	5.3%
Lithuania	5.3%
Malta	5.3%
Poland	5.3%
China	5.1%
Estonia	5.1%
Guernsey	5.1%
Iceland	5.1%
Japan	5.1%
Kuwait	5.1%
Belgium	5.0%
Brunei	5.0%
Cayman Islands	5.0%
Czechia	5.0%
France	5.0%
Hong Kong	5.0%
Ireland	5.0%
Isle of Man	5.0%
Jersey	5.0%
Macao	5.0%
Saudi Arabia	5.0%
Taiwan	5.0%
United Kingdom	5.0%
Abu Dhabi	4.9%
South Korea	4.9%
Qatar	4.9%
United Arab Emirates	4.9%
Austria	4.6%
Finland	4.6%
United States	4.5%
Australia	4.2%
Canada	4.2%
Denmark	4.2%
Germany	4.2%
Liechtenstein	4.2%
Luxembourg	4.2%
Netherlands	4.2%
New Zealand	4.2%
Norway	4.2%
Singapore	4.2%
Sweden	4.2%
Switzerland	4.2%

To estimate the investment risk premium, Damodaran looked at each country’s credit rating and how much extra interest investors want when lending to it. For countries where government bonds aren’t available or traded, he based his estimate on the differences in equity returns of two emerging markets indices.

As a last step, he added that country risk premium to his estimate of a mature market equity risk premium.

The riskiest countries are those that experience war, sanctions, and economic collapse. Belarus, Lebanon, Sudan, and Venezuela each have the highest equity risk premiums of 30.9%.

Belarusians have faced intense political repression as they responded to the contested re-election of Alexander Lukashenko in 2020. Lebanon is considered a failed state as governance and the economy have collapsed, while armed groups are present on the streets.

There has been a civil war in Sudan since 2023, causing a devastating humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, Venezuela has a long history of instability; the mismanagement of its oil industry and the economy sent the once-prosperous nation into disarray.

Cuba, Ukraine, Syria, and Yemen, which have also experienced conflict or sanctions, are among a cluster of countries with risk premiums of 19.8%.

Countries Considered Safer Investment Bets

Some of the safest countries include Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, and the Netherlands, with risk premiums at 4.2%. Investors likely treat them interchangeably.

The U.S. has a slightly higher premium at 4.5%, which may reflect recent political polarization and higher equity volatility. Indeed, “Sell America” dominated investor conversations earlier this year amid economic uncertainty, questions around the independence of the Federal Reserve, and the depreciation of the dollar.

Still, it is one of just 19 countries that have risk premiums below 5%.

Europe is not homogeneous. Southern countries, where economies were hit by the 2009 debt crisis, have higher risk premiums. Spain and Portugal sit at 5.8%, Italy at 6.7%, and Greece is 7.1%.

How Investors Back Riskier Markets

Only certain kinds of investors are willing to place risky bets.

Pension funds, for instance, tend to have a low risk tolerance as they are using the public’s pension savings to invest. Investment mandates can also limit how much a fund is allowed to allocate to emerging markets or high-risk strategies. In practice, they can access riskier markets indirectly via diversified funds, where they are able to hedge their bets.

No matter the size of the reward, emerging markets investors tend to focus on countries showing signs of stability, economic and business reform, and an alignment with global long-term themes.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about investment in emerging markets, check out this graphic, which ranks foreign direct investment scores.

2026-03-26 12:38:43

Mapped: Europe’s GDP Growth Forecasts for 2026

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Europe’s gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow by only 2.3% on average in 2026, held back by sluggish growth in major eurozone markets such as France, Germany, and Italy. However, other regions are expected to see faster economic expansion, especially in Southern and Eastern Europe.

This map showcases forecasted European GDP growth rates for 2026 utilizing data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Across the Old Continent, growth is constrained by high regulation, weak demand, and a difficult global environment, with heavy export-led economies like Germany particularly impacted.

Germany’s Years-Long Hangover

Germany, the third-largest economy worldwide, is facing deep structural problems with its market structure. Following two consecutive years of recession, Europe’s largest economy barely grew at all in 2025, and is expected to see just 0.9% growth in 2026, ahead of only two other European Union (EU) member states.

The data table below provides a 2026 forecast of European GDP growth.

Country	Real GDP Growth (%)
Albania	3.6
Andorra	1.6
Armenia	4.9
Austria	0.8
Azerbaijan	2.5
Belarus	1.4
Belgium	1
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2.7
Bulgaria	3.1
Croatia	2.7
Cyprus	2.8
Czechia	2
Denmark	2.2
Estonia	1.5
Finland	1.3
France	0.9
Georgia	5.3
Germany	0.9
Greece	2
Hungary	2.1
Iceland	2.3
Ireland	1.3
Italy	0.8
Kosovo	4
Latvia	2.2
Liechtenstein	1.5
Lithuania	2.9
Luxembourg	2.1
Malta	3.9
Moldova	2.2
Montenegro	3.2
Netherlands	1.2
North Macedonia	3.2
Norway	1.6
Poland	3.1
Portugal	2.1
Romania	1.4
Russia	1
San Marino	1.3
Serbia	3.6
Slovakia	1.7
Slovenia	2.3
Spain	2
Sweden	1.9
Switzerland	1.3
Turkey	3.7
Ukraine	4.5
United Kingdom	1.3

Between 2005 and 2019, Germany experienced what has been termed the “labor market miracle,” an era of economic expansion powered by high employment growth, low interest rates, and cheap energy. However, this period came to an abrupt end with the COVID-19 pandemic and especially with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which sent energy prices skyrocketing and all but halted German growth.

Germany’s post-COVID economic situation is a perfect storm of challenges. Energy prices have remained high owing to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and escalating conflicts in the Middle East. German industry, the pride of the country, is increasingly being squeezed by both U.S. tariffs as well as massive Chinese competition. Major trade deals and deregulation efforts are being hamstrung by political gridlock in both Berlin and Brussels, the latter being the EU’s political capital.

Today, the EU’s modest growth forecast for 2026 can be attributed in no small part to the severe economic woes faced by its main economic engine. So long as Germany is not able to modernize its economy and restore its prior growth levels from previous decades, the EU as a whole will face severe headwinds.

Europe’s Other Major Economies

Beyond Berlin, the news remains grim for the other major economies of Europe.

France is projected to match Germany’s sluggish growth of just 0.9%, while Italy is tied with Austria for the continent’s slowest growth (0.8%). Russia (1%) is still held back by the high interest rates and low domestic demand of its wartime economy, while the United Kingdom (1.3%) fares only slightly better.

Spain has been touted as the eurozone’s newest star, with the Iberian country becoming the fastest-growing Western major economy on the backs of high post-COVID public investment and strong renewable energy resources. While the forecast of 2% for 2026 represents a slowdown from the 2.8-3.5% seen in recent years, Spanish fortunes have flipped as dramatically as their German counterparts’ from the eurozone crisis of the 2010s.

The Rise of Europe’s East and South

Of course, Spain is far from the only country rewriting its reputation in real time. Poland (3.1%) is another EU heavyweight in the making, while the tiny island country of Malta’s impressive 3.9% is likely to be the highest economic expansion in the bloc.

Outside of the EU, countries in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus emerge as major growth hubs, led by Georgia (5.3%), Armenia (4.9%), and war-torn Ukraine (4.5%).

Turkey, the top economy of the Eastern Mediterranean, faces a growth projection of 3.7%, although its results are tampered by an inflation rate hovering around 30% following peaks in 2022 and 2024.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Comparing Electricity Prices for Household Consumers in Europe on Voronoi.

2026-03-26 01:21:32

Ranked: Countries With the Most Patents

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

A handful of countries dominate global patent activity, with a steep drop-off after the top ranks. China alone accounts for a massive share, holding millions more active patents than any other country.

This visualization ranks countries by total active patents using the latest available data from the World Intellectual Property Organization for 2024.

China Is Miles Ahead on Active Patents

China leads with 5.7 million active patents, followed by the United States and Japan, and together the top three exceed the rest of the world combined.

Country	Number of Active Patents
China	5,688,867
United States	3,519,879
Japan	2,085,215
South Korea	1,312,294
Germany	963,941
France	757,026
United Kingdom	744,130
Italy	382,444
Switzerland	268,054
The Netherlands	246,254
Russia	243,943
India	228,402
Spain	217,849
Canada	201,063
Ireland	198,100
Belgium	187,149
Luxembourg	163,418
Australia	163,069
Sweden	152,158
Austria	134,163
Monaco	120,437
Poland	111,782
Mexico	111,190
Denmark	109,551
Brazil	106,827
South Africa	104,012
Finland	96,416
Türkiye	89,401
Indonesia	84,540
Portugal	81,509
Hong Kong	73,249
Norway	55,349
Czechia	50,433
Singapore	49,667
Iran	44,453
Israel	41,001
Malaysia	38,168
Hungary	35,950
Greece	27,510
Romania	27,474
Thailand	24,635
New Zealand	23,867
Viet Nam	23,291
Slovakia	21,189
Chile	21,079
Ukraine	20,445
Slovenia	18,517
Philippines	15,463
Saudi Arabia	14,739
Croatia	13,431
Bulgaria	13,311
Argentina	13,053
Lithuania	12,414
Estonia	10,684
Latvia	10,493
Iceland	9,501
Serbia	9,368
Colombia	9,009
Zambia	8,562
Malta	7,385
Algeria	7,039
Macao	5,777
North Macedonia	5,528
Iraq	5,141
Egypt	5,107
Morocco	4,917
United Arab Emirates	4,587
Peru	4,539
Ghana	3,326
Kazakhstan	2,837
Bangladesh	2,203
Pakistan	2,157
Panama	2,076
Mongolia	1,656
Costa Rica	1,462
Belarus	1,371
Uzbekistan	1,255
Dominican Republic	1,194
Uruguay	1,138
Sri Lanka	1,007
El Salvador	918
Georgia	836
Trinidad and Tobago	830
Syria	666
Bahrain	571
Qatar	569
Jamaica	451
Honduras	446
Cuba	421
Namibia	415
Azerbaijan	403
Zimbabwe	403
Oman	355
Ethiopia	322
Paraguay	257
Moldova	255
Madagascar	232
Guatemala	218
Ecuador	215
Venezuela	208
Kyrgyzstan	186
Sao Tome and Principe	153
Kuwait	74
Bosnia and Herzegovina	69
Barbados	63
Andorra	48
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	20
Armenia	17
Uganda	17
Cyprus	10
Bhutan	6
Myanmar	4

South Korea takes the fourth spot for most active patents, with 1.3 million. It underscores Asia’s strong presence among the world’s leading innovation hubs.

It’s unsurprising to see these countries in the top ranks, given the size of their economies and populations, though South Korea becomes an outlier through this lens.

Germany is the top European country, at 963,941, but active patents dip significantly from there to 757,026 for France.

Myanmar, which brought in its first ever law dedicated to patent protection and innovation in 2024, sits at the bottom of the dataset with four patents. It is only one of two — the other being Bhutan, which has six active patents — to have fewer than 10 active patents.

Most Countries Contribute Little to Global Innovation

Global patent ownership is highly concentrated, with a small number of countries accounting for the majority of innovation output.

While countries like China, the U.S., and Japan dominate the landscape, most nations contribute relatively small numbers of active patents. This gap highlights differences in research capacity, industrial scale, and investment in innovation.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about innovation, check out this graphic which ranks top startup hubs.

2026-03-25 22:11:32

Half the World’s Oil Comes From Just Five Countries

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Just five countries produced half of the world’s oil in 2025, with the U.S., Russia, and Saudi Arabia alone accounting for nearly 40% of global supply.

That level of concentration means a small number of countries have an outsized influence on global oil supply.

This visualization shows global crude oil production including lease condensate by country in a single chart with countries organized and colored by region.

The data for this visualization comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and is a Jan-Nov 2025 annualized average of crude oil and lease condensate production by country, the latest data available as of March 9, 2026.

U.S., Russia, and Saudi Arabia Lead Crude Oil Production

The U.S. was the world’s largest producer of crude oil and lease condensate in 2025, producing 13.58 million barrels per day (mb/d), comfortably ahead of Russia at 9.87 mb/d and Saudi Arabia at 9.51 mb/d. Combined together, those three countries were responsible for 39% of global crude oil production in 2025.

The data table below shows the world’s crude oil production in 2025 by country in million barrels per day (mb/d) and each country’s share of global production:

Country	Crude Oil and Lease Condensate 2025 Production (million barrels per day)	Share of 2025 Global Production (%)
United States	13.58	16.08
Russia	9.87	11.69
Saudi Arabia	9.51	11.26
Canada	4.94	5.85
Iraq	4.39	5.20
China	4.34	5.14
Iran	4.19	4.96
United Arab Emirates	3.82	4.52
Brazil	3.75	4.43
Kuwait	2.58	3.05
Kazakhstan	2.07	2.45
Norway	1.85	2.19
Mexico	1.72	2.04
Nigeria	1.61	1.90
Libya	1.36	1.61
Qatar	1.31	1.55
Algeria	1.14	1.35
Angola	1.03	1.22
Oman	1.00	1.18
Venezuela	0.97	1.15
Argentina	0.79	0.93
Colombia	0.75	0.88
Guyana	0.73	0.87
United Kingdom	0.61	0.73
India	0.60	0.71
Indonesia	0.58	0.69
Azerbaijan	0.56	0.67
Malaysia	0.52	0.61
Egypt	0.51	0.60
Ecuador	0.44	0.52
Australia	0.25	0.29
Congo-Brazzaville	0.24	0.28
Gabon	0.24	0.28
Turkmenistan	0.19	0.23
Ghana	0.18	0.22
Bahrain	0.18	0.22
Vietnam	0.16	0.19
Thailand	0.16	0.19
Chad	0.13	0.15
Turkiye	0.13	0.15
South Sudan	0.11	0.13
Niger	0.10	0.12
Brunei	0.10	0.12
Senegal	0.10	0.12
Italy	0.08	0.10
Equatorial Guinea	0.08	0.09
Syria	0.07	0.09
Denmark	0.07	0.09
Cameroon	0.06	0.07
Pakistan	0.06	0.07
Cote d'Ivoire	0.05	0.06
Romania	0.05	0.06
Trinidad and Tobago	0.05	0.06
Peru	0.05	0.05
Germany	0.03	0.04
Papua New Guinea	0.03	0.04
Sudan	0.03	0.04
Uzbekistan	0.03	0.04
Belarus	0.03	0.03
Cuba	0.03	0.03
Tunisia	0.03	0.03
Hungary	0.02	0.03
Netherlands	0.02	0.03
Israel	0.02	0.02
Bolivia	0.02	0.02
Poland	0.02	0.02
Congo-Kinshasa	0.02	0.02
Yemen	0.02	0.02
Mongolia	0.01	0.02
Albania	0.01	0.01
Suriname	0.01	0.01
Serbia	0.01	0.01
France	0.01	0.01
Croatia	0.01	0.01
Austria	0.01	0.01
New Zealand	0.01	0.01
Burma	0.01	0.01
Kyrgyzstan	0.01	0.01
Guatemala	0.01	0.01

After that top tier, production drops sharply. Canada ranked fourth at 4.94 million barrels per day, followed by Iraq (4.39) and China (4.34). In other words, the U.S. alone almost produced more crude than Canada, Iraq, and China combined.

Iran was the seventh-largest producer of crude oil in 2025, pumping 4.19 mb/d which equates to 5% of the world’s production last year.

The Middle East is the Largest Oil-Producing Region

While the U.S. was the single biggest producer, the Middle East remained the largest regional bloc in the ranking. Countries from the region produced 32% of the world’s crude oil in 2025, or nearly one-third of the global total.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait all landed in the top 10. That clustering helps explain why Middle Eastern supply continues to play an outsized role in global oil balances, even with the U.S. holding the top spot individually.

The war in Iran has led to significant disruption in crude oil production and trade in 2026, with many Middle Eastern countries’ production facilities shut down or destroyed.

Even if the war were to end soon, many facilities will require significant reinvestment and time to repair, along with high levels of uncertainty across the key energy trade route that is the Strait of Hormuz.

After the Top 10, Oil Production Falls Off Quickly

The concentration of output in a few countries and regions becomes even clearer lower down the ranking of oil producers. The top 10 countries accounted for 72.2% of global production, meaning all remaining producers combined contributed less than 28%.

That long tail includes countries such as Kazakhstan, Norway, Mexico, Nigeria, Libya, and Guyana, each of which adds meaningful barrels to the market without approaching the scale of the leading producers.

The result is a global crude market where a handful of countries still matter most for overall supply trends.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about the world’s crude oil, check out this graphic which shows the top countries by crude oil reserves on Voronoi.

2026-03-25 20:04:50

Mapped: Years to Save for a Home by U.S. State

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Saving for a home down payment can take anywhere from under a decade to more than 25 years in the U.S., depending on where you live.

Based on Consumer Affairs data, this map shows how many years it takes the average household to save for a home in each state. Nationwide, the average is 14.4 years, but timelines vary dramatically by state.

In states like Iowa and Ohio, buyers can save in under a decade. In coastal markets like California and New York, timelines stretch past 20 years.

The Timeline to Homeownership Across America

Iowa ranks as the fastest state, where it takes just 8.7 years on average to save for a home. With median home prices around $247,000 in 2025—the second-lowest nationwide—the state combines relatively affordable housing with moderate incomes and taxes.

In Ohio (9.9 years) and Texas (10.3 years), meanwhile, lower home prices and more manageable tax burdens help shorten the path to ownership.

The table below shows the estimated number of years needed to save for a 10% down payment in each state, ranked from shortest to longest. Estimates are based on median incomes, taxes, living costs, and median home prices.

In the most affordable parts of the country—especially across the Midwest—buyers can still save for a home in under a decade.

But in high-cost housing markets, the timeline stretches dramatically. In California, for instance, it takes over 25 years on average to save, nearly three times longer than in Iowa.

Even relatively high incomes don’t offset the gap. Despite median household earnings around $100,000, steep home prices and high taxes continue to weigh on buyers. Other expensive states—including New York, Hawaii, and Montana—also see timelines exceed 20 years.

For most Americans, the reality falls somewhere in between. Nationwide, saving for a home takes 10 to 15 years, with an average of 14.4 years.

As a result, homeownership is increasingly delayed. The median age of first-time buyers has climbed to a record 38 years old, highlighting how buying a home is becoming a longer-term financial goal.

Methodology

To estimate how long it takes to save for a home in each state, Consumer Affairs analyzed median household income alongside federal, state, and payroll taxes, as well as average annual living expenses, including housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and insurance.

From this, the remaining discretionary income available after essential costs was calculated.

Each state’s median home price was then used to estimate how many years it would take to save for a 10% down payment, assuming households save 10% of their remaining income annually. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, Tax Foundation, Redfin, and the BEA.

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To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the states attracting the most new residents.