This Is the Salary You Need to Buy a House Right Now

It's long been a cliché that owning a home is part of the American dream. But with the housing market the way it is, could that dream be an outdated one? That might depend on where you want to live.

Mortgage website HSH.com crunched the numbers to figure out how much it would take to afford the basics of owning a home. How? They found the median home prices in 27 metropolitan areas across America, and compared that with 30-year mortgage interest rates.

With a 20 percent down payment, you'd have to make $48,603.82 a year to afford a median priced home in America. But the number varies vastly when you go from city to city. If you want to buy in Pittsburgh, you only need to make $31,716, but if you want to buy in San Francisco, you need to make a whopping $142,448.

So steer clear of Silicon Valley if you're looking to purchase a home—unless you have the paycheck to back it up.

Here are the most affordable and least affordable cities to buy a house:

Most affordable:

1. Pittsburgh: $31,715.32

2. Cleveland: $32,010.41

3. St. Louis $33,323.09

Least affordable:

1. San Francisco: $142,448.33

2. San Diego: $95,432.68

3. Los Angeles: $89,664.86

You should also check out:

The Huge Reason You Should Buy a Home Near a Starbucks

10 Apps That Make House Hunting Way Easier

The 10 Best Cities for Young Homebuyers

[via Time