• New regional price parity data showed the varying cost of living in the US.
• California and Washington, DC, had the highest cost of living, largely driven by housing costs.
• Most of the states with the lowest relative cost of living were around the middle of the country.

Many states have a lower cost of living than the national average, but the West Coast and Northeast are still pricey.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis published new regional price parity data on Thursday that showed how expensive it is to live in different areas of the US.

"Regional price parities measure the differences in price levels across states for a given year and are expressed as a percentage of the overall national price level," BEA said in a news release.

The new 2023 data showed 16 states and Washington, DC, had more expensive goods and services than the national average. The states with the lowest cost of living were mainly around the middle of the country, including some states in the South.

The following map shows overall regional price parities, where a value over 100 means it was above the national average. Hawaii's figure of 108.6 means goods and services were about 9% more expensive than the average.

California had the highest relative cost of living; the state is 12.6% more expensive than the average. California metros also made up the majority of the top 10 that had the highest all-items regional price parities in 2023. The metro area of San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley had the highest at 118.2, meaning it was almost 20% more expensive than the national average.

Washington, DC, had an ever-so-slightly higher figure than California in 2022 but fell short of California's in 2023. DC was 10.8% more expensive than the average. New Jersey ranked right below DC.

Relatively high housing costs contributed to the overall high regional price parities in those two states and DC. BEA said rents are usually "the main driver in differences in RPPs." DC, California, and New Jersey had the highest regional price parities for rents.

Arkansas continued to have the lowest regional price parity and was 13.5% less expensive than the national average in 2023. Alabama, West Virginia, and South Dakota were among the 10 states that were at least 10% less expensive than the national average.

• Inflation increased as expected in November.
• The consumer price index increased 2.7% for the 12 months ending November.
• The Federal Reserve will likely decide to cut interest rates in the last FOMC meeting of the year next week.

In November, inflation sped up once again.

The consumer price index increased 2.7% from a year ago as expected, higher than October's 2.6% rate and the highest reading since July, when the rate was 2.9%.

Matt Colyar, an economist at Moody's Analytics, told Business Insider before the new data was published that an acceleration wouldn't be concerning because November's increase would likely be because of housing inflation. Shelter inflation has mainly been cooling from its peak of over 8% in March last year but is still high compared to the pre-pandemic rate.

"If inflation were to accelerate because prices for cyclical, demand-driven things like hotels, vehicles, airfare, etc. jumped, then policymakers at the Federal Reserve will start to look at the US economy with a bit more caution," Colyar said. "That shouldn't be overstated, however. It takes more than one monthly data point to be a trend and we haven't yet seen that kind of dynamic emerging."

While shelter was the biggest contributor to inflation overall, housing price growth has slowed. "The shelter index increased 4.7 percent over the last year, the smallest 12-month increase since February 2022," a Bureau of Labor Statistics news release on Wednesday said.

Members of the Federal Open Market Committee will meet once more this year next week on December 17 and 18 and will likely announce another interest-rate cut. CME FedWatch showed after the new inflation data was published traders expected a nearly 100% chance of an interest rate cut of 25 basis points next week, up from a nearly 90% chance before the report.

The CPI increased 0.3% over the month in November from October, the same as the forecast and an uptick from October's increase of 0.2%. The news release said that the rise in the shelter index over the month accounted for almost 40% of the overall increase.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 3.3% from a year ago as expected. That's the same year-over-year rate as in October.

The energy index fell 3.2% year over year in November after declining 4.9% in October. Gas tumbled by 8.1% in November.

The food-at-home index rose 1.6% year-over-year in November after rising 1.1% in October, and the food-away-from-home index increased 3.6% in November after rising 3.8% in October.

Cory Stahle, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, told BI following the jobs report that "there are still many reasons to be optimistic about the labor market," like the layoff rate being less than the pre-pandemic low. However, Stahle added, "As a Federal Reserve policymaker, you don't want to wait until things start looking bad to react to that because then by then you might be too late."

• President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview that he "would consider" raising the federal minimum wage.
• It has been at $7.25 per hour since 2009; however, 30 states and DC have increased their minimum above the federal level.
• Here's where it stands in every state and the raises both parties have proposed.

President-elect Donald Trump said he'd consider raising the federal minimum wage. It's been $7.25 per hour since 2009, though 30 states and a slew of cities have adopted higher rates.

"It's a very low number," Trump said in an interview with "Meet the Press" that aired on December 8. While he didn't commit to a specific level, he said that a federal minimum of $8 or $9 "might have very little effect" because of the low cost of living in some areas.

Any raises to the federal minimum wage would directly affect workers in at least the 20 states where, as of July, the minimum wage was at or below the federal level, per the Department of Labor. Most minimum wage jobs are in the service sector, largely in food preparation and serving-related positions.

Washington, DC, has a higher minimum wage than any state in the country at $17.50, though some US cities have raised it even more. Washington state, with a minimum wage of $16.28, and California, with a minimum wage of $16, came in second and third, respectively.

On January 1, 21 states — and 48 cities and counties — are set to see their minimum wages increase, mostly as a result of existing laws, per the National Employment Law Project. In the most recent election, Missouri voted to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, and Alaska voted to hike its minimum to $15 by mid-2027.

The last federal minimum increase was in July 2009, from $6.55 to $7.25. Since then, overall prices based on the consumer price index have gone up around 47% in the US as of November.

Trump pointed out in his "Meet the Press" interview that the cost of living varies across the country, and a federal wage might not be a one-size-fits-all solution.

"The other thing that is very complicated about minimum wage is places are so different," he said. "Mississippi and Alabama and great places are very different than New York or California in terms of the cost of living and other things."

Indeed, regional price parities data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that Mississippi and Alabama had among the lowest costs of living in the country in 2023, while California and New York were more expensive than the national average. Alabama and Mississippi don't have state minimum wage laws. The minimum wage in New York is $16 in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, and $15 for the rest of the state.

While Trump said wage changes like California's — which hiked it to $20 for fast food workers in April — might go too far, "there is a level at which you could do it, absolutely." He said before making any changes, he'd want to speak to governors.

President Joe Biden backed a $15 wage, which every Republican senator and eight Democrats ultimately voted against. Some lawmakers on the left have gone even further, with Sen. Bernie Sanders pushing to raise the wage to $17 by 2028.

Some Republicans have also proposed raising the federal minimum wage. While he was still in the Senate, Vice President-elect JD Vance cosponsored a bill to gradually increase it to $11, although that bill also includes additional measures like raising penalties on employers that hire workers living in the country illegally.

The Trump-Vance transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on Trump's potential plans for the minimum wage.

• The US added 227,000 jobs in November, greater than the expected gain of 202,000.
• Unemployment ticked up as expected from 4.1% to 4.2%.
• The job market's strength in October was clouded due to hurricanes and strikes impacting data collection.

The US added 227,000 jobs in November, more than the consensus expectation of 202,000.

Unemployment increased as expected, from 4.1% in October to 4.2% in November. The rate has been at least 4% since May. While that's low compared to historical averages, the overall labor market has cooled due to a hiring slowdown.

The new jobs report gives the Federal Reserve better information about the state of the labor market after October's report was hampered by the effects of hurricanes and strikes. Friday's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed October's preliminary gain was revised up — from 12,000 jobs to 36,000. September's growth was also revised upward, from 223,000 to 255,000.

"Some of the story in November is post-hurricane bounce back," Ernie Tedeschi, the director of economics at The Budget Lab at Yale, wrote on X.

Tedeschi said the revisions for October and September increased the three-month moving average job growth to 173,000 a month. That's in line with this year's trend, suggesting that the weak October report was indeed a hurricane- and strike-fueled outlier.

Slightly fewer people were working or looking for work in November. Labor force participation dropped from 62.6% in October to 62.5%.

Wage growth remained steady, with average hourly earnings increasing 4% year-over-year in November, matching October's rate.

The Fed's two most recent interest-rate decisions were both cuts, a 50-basis-point cut in September and a 25-basis-point cut in November. Americans will know if there will be one more rate cut this year on December 18.

The CME FedWatch tool, which shows what traders think Fed rate decisions will be, showed a roughly 90% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in December after the BLS release, up from around 70% before the report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

• A Pew Research Center analysis shows the largest occupations for young US workers without degrees.
• Men often work as drivers or in construction, while women work in customer service or nursing roles.
• College enrollment rates have declined in recent years.

Customer service representatives and truck drivers are the most common jobs for young women and men without a four-year degree, respectively.

Men and women between the ages of 25 and 34 who don't have college degrees also work as construction laborers, health aides, cashiers, and chefs, per a Pew Research Center analysis published in July.

There was little overlap in the most common jobs for young men and women without a college degree, but the two groups did share two roles: first-line supervisors of sales workers and retail salespersons.

Roles like these have become particularly prevalent for men, whose college enrollment rates have fallen behind women's in recent years.

Forty-seven percent of US women between the ages of 25 and 34 have a bachelor's degree compared to 37% of men, per a Pew analysis published in November. However, overall college enrollment rates have fallen in recent years: The share of male high school graduates between the ages of 16 and 24 enrolling in college has declined to 58% as of 2023 from 67% in 2018, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Young women's enrollment rate has declined to 65% from 71% over this period.

Many of these young people are seeking jobs that don't require a college degree, and some have benefited from companies dropping degree requirements. The share of US job postings that require at least a college degree has fallen to 17.8% from 20.4% in 2019, according to an Indeed report published earlier this year. To be sure, many employers still prioritize hiring workers with a college diploma.

The Pew report published in July also highlighted the most common job categories for Americans with a four-year college degree. Four occupation categories were among the 10 most common jobs for both men and women: software developers, managers, accountants and auditors, and elementary and middle school teachers.

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• Donald Trump's latest tariff threat is to levy 100% duties on goods from the nine BRICS countries.
• He framed the threat as a bargaining chip, warning BRICS against competing with the US dollar.
• The US imported billions of dollars of goods from BRICS in 2023, including apparel and electronics.

President-elect Donald Trump's latest trade threat on nine countries could affect key US imports, risking price increases if the tariffs are implemented.

In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Trump targeted the BRICS group, which comprises nine countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. All have pushed to curb the global dominance of the US dollar. He wrote that he would impose a 100% tariff on those countries' goods unless they committed to not creating another currency that competes with the dollar.

"There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America," Trump wrote.

Business Insider looked at the top goods the US imports from BRICS nations, including medicine, apparel, and electronics. While Trump appears to be using the tariff threats as a negotiating tool and could choose not to implement them at the scale he's proposing, the top imports from the targeted countries could see prices increase even with smaller tariffs.

Census Bureau trade data showed that in 2023, the BRICS nations together accounted for about $578 billion in US imports. China was responsible for the lion's share of that trade, with about $427 billion.

In 2023, the US imported $66.7 billion in cellphones and other household goods from China, $37.4 billion in computers, and $32 billion in toys, games, and sporting goods.

The US imported $151 billion in goods from the remaining eight BRICS nations, including over $11 billion in pharmaceutical preparations, followed by nearly $9 billion in gem diamonds, $6.3 billion in crude oil, and $6.1 billion in cotton apparel and household goods. India accounted for much of the imports from BRICS nations other than China.

Trump is targeting this group because some BRICS leaders have previously suggested acting to reduce their countries' reliance on the US dollar. Last year, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva proposed creating a common currency among the BRICS nations.

The tariff threat on BRICS came just days after Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada that would remain in effect "until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!" He also warned of a 10% tariff on imports from China on top of any additional tariffs put in place on the country.

Russia has already responded to Trump's tariff threat. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that if the US used "economic force to compel countries to use the dollar," it would empower countries to shift to other currencies for international trade.

Some companies, including Walmart and Columbia Sportswear, have already said they are preparing to increase prices should Trump implement tariffs on key trading partners.

The Trump team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the impact of Trump's tariff threats on prices. Trump has previously said tariffs will not hurt Americans, misleadingly calling them "a tax on another country" (tariffs imposed by the US are paid by US importers).

During Trump's first term, he threatened tariffs against Mexico as a response to illegal immigration over the southern US border but later withdrew the plan. Sen. Bill Hagerty told NBC News on Sunday that trade had long been used as a "strategic tool," and he said he supported Trump using tariffs as leverage to achieve his priorities.

"We need to take a very hard look at countries that don't have our best interests at heart, countries that are allowing our borders to be violated," Hagerty said, "and use those tariffs as a tool to achieve our ends."

• Guaranteed basic-income programs can help low-income participants afford necessities like rent.
• More than 100 US cities and counties have tried GBI, offering cash for housing and groceries. 
• Despite legislative opposition, basic-income programs remain active across the country.

Basic income gives many participants the financial boost they need to afford necessities.

Shamarra Woods, a 31-year-old Atlanta resident, spent basic income on bills and day care for her toddler.

For Jennette Fisher, 46, $500 a month allowed her to sign a lease for an apartment in a quiet Chicago suburb with her daughter.

"It took such a weight off," Fisher previously told Business Insider. "If I wouldn't have had that money, I don't know what would have happened."

Guaranteed basic income has become an increasingly popular strategy to approach poverty in US cities. More than 100 municipalities have tried the GBI model since 2019, offering low-income participants between $50 and $2,000 a month, no strings attached, for a set time period.

What makes basic income different from traditional social services is the element of choice. Most participants told BI they spent basic income on housing, groceries, transportation, and debt repayment — wherever they needed it the most.

Typically, participants fall below the federal poverty line. Some programs have focused on specific populations, such as new and expecting mothers, households with children, or people experiencing homelessness.

Basic-income pilots have been completed in cities and counties in Alabama, Virginia, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, and Oklahoma, among other states. The Alaska Permanent Fund is similar to UBI, and several countries have basic-income programs.

GBI varies slightly from universal basic income, which also offers participants no-strings-attached cash payments but has no set time period. It's also not limited to participants in a specific demographic or income bracket.

Local and federal leaders continue to weigh the pros and cons of UBI. Basic-income programs have faced legislative opposition from some Republican lawmakers, who say that basic income discourages work.

For example, Iowa passed a ban on GBI in April, and the Arizona House of Representatives voted in February to ban basic income. On April 23, the Texas Supreme Court placed a temporary block on a Houston-area basic income program that the attorney general called "unconstitutional."

Despite these political challenges, basic-income programs remain active across the country. Here's a breakdown of states, listed in alphabetical order, where cash payments are offered to low-income residents.

California

Location: Los Angeles County
Program name: Breathe
Duration: June 2022 to August 2025
Income amount: $1,000 every month for three years
Number of participants: 1,000 low-income households

Location: Los Angeles
Program name: Building Outstanding Opportunities for Students to Thrive (BOOST) program
Duration: fall 2024 to fall 2025
Income amount: $1,000 a month for 12 months
Number of participants: 250 students pursuing health careers in the Los Angeles Community College District

Location: Alameda County
Program: United Way Bay Area's GBI pilot
Duration: November 2024 to spring 2026
Income amount: initial $3,000 payment, then $1,000 a month for the next 12 months, with amounts tapering for the final six months
Number of participants: 100 local families

Location: Long Beach
Program name: Long Beach Pledge
Duration: spring 2024 to spring 2025
Income amount: $500 a month for 12 months
Number of participants: 200 low-income households with children

Location: Mountain View
Program name: Elevate MV
Duration: December 2022 to December 2024
Income amount: $500 a month for 24 months
Number of participants: 166 low-income parents

Location: Sonoma County
Program name: Pathway to Income Equity
Duration: January 2023 to January 2025
Income amount: $500 a month for 24 months
Number of participants: 305 low-income families

Location: Pomona
Program name: City of Pomona Household Universal Grants Pilot Program
Duration: summer 2024 to spring 2026
Income amount: $500 a month for 18 months
Number of participants: 250 low-income families with children under 4 years old

Location: Humboldt County
Program name: Humboldt Income Program
Duration: on a rolling basis, beginning December 2023
Income amount: $920 a month for 18 months
Number of participants: 150 low-income pregnant people

California has seen basic income programs in Stockton, San Francisco, Marin County, Compton, Oakland, Santa Clara, and San Diego. In 2021, California's basic income efforts were granted $35 million for more GBI pilots over five years, and a bill being heard in the California Senate would provide GBI starting in August for students experiencing homelessness.

Colorado

Location: Boulder
Program name: Elevate Boulder
Duration: January 2024 to January 2026
Income amount: $500 a month for two years
Number of participants: 200 low-income households

Beginning in 2022, a basic-income program in Denver gave cash assistance to 800 people experiencing homelessness.

Georgia

Location: Atlanta, southwest Georgia, and College Park
Program name: In Her Hands
Duration: a first pilot from 2022 to 2024 and a second pilot that began in spring 2024
Income amount: average payments of $850 a month over 24 months for the first round
Number of participants: 650 low-income Black women

Illinois

Location: Cook County
Program name: Cook County Promise
Duration: December 2022 to December 2024
Income amount: $500 a month for 24 months
Number of participants: 3,250 low- to moderate-income families

Location: Evanston
Program name: Guaranteed Income Program
Duration: A first round ran from December 2022 to December 2023, and applications for a second round were due in summer 2024.
Income amount: $500 a month for one year
Number of participants: 150 low-income families

Location: statewide
Program name: Empower Parenting with Resources
Duration: fall 2024 to fall 2026
Income amount: monthly payments for a year dependent on each participant's income and local cost of living
Number of participants: 400 families involved in the child-welfare system

Chicago previously ran the Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot, providing basic income for 5,000 residents, and has set aside $32 million to relaunch the program. OpenAI's cofounder Sam Altman also sponsored a GBI program beginning in 2019 that gave 3,000 Texas and Illinois residents $1,000 a month for three years.

Iowa

Location: Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties
Program name: UpLift — The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot
Duration: May 2023 to spring 2026
Income amount: $500 a month
Number of participants: 110 low-income households

Louisiana

Location: New Orleans
Program name: Rooted School: $50 Study
Duration: two phases, running from fall 2022 to summer 2024, with funding set aside to expand the program over the next three years
Income amount: $50 a week for the 40-week academic year
Number of participants: 800 New Orleans high-school students

A previous program in Shreveport gave 110 single parents $660 monthly for a year ending in February 2023. The New Orleans Guaranteed Income Program gave 125 young people disconnected from work or school $350 monthly between spring 2022 and spring 2023. A statewide basic-income pilot called the Truth and Reconciliation Project also gave 12 people described by the program as "survivors of police misconduct who did not receive restitution in the courts" $1,000 a month, with payments concluding in October.

Massachusetts

Location: Somerville
Program name: Somerville Guaranteed Basic Income Program
Duration: July 2024 to July 2025
Income amount: $750 a month for 12 months
Number of participants: 200 low-income families

Massachusetts has run basic income programs in Boston, Chelsea, and Cambridge.

Michigan

Location: Ann Arbor
Program name: Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor
Duration: January 2024 to December 2025
Income amount: $528 a month for 24 months
Number of participants: 100 low-income entrepreneurs

Location: Flint
Program name: Rx Kids
Duration: January 2024 to spring 2025
Income amount: $1,500 lump sum, then $500 monthly payments during the first year of a baby's life
Number of participants: 1,200 new and expectant mothers

Minnesota

Location: statewide
Program name: Guaranteed Income for Artists
Duration: initially 18 months, extended to five years in summer 2024
Income amount: $500 month
Number of participants: 75 artists living in rural areas, plus 25 artists set to be added in 2024

St. Paul previously hosted an 18-month program for 150 low-income families, who received $500 a month beginning in fall 2020. A program in Minneapolis gave 200 families $500 a month.

Mississippi

Location: Jackson
Program name: Magnolia Mother's Trust
Duration: 12 months per pilot, ongoing
Income amount: $1,000 a month
Number of participants: over 400 low-income Black mothers since fall 2018

Missouri

Location: St. Louis
Program name: STL Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot
Duration: fall 2023 to spring 2025, with payments temporarily blocked in July by a lawsuit
Income amount: $500 a month for 18 months
Number of participants: 540 low-income families with children

New York

Location: New York City, Rochester, and Buffalo
Program name: The Bridge Project
Duration: June 2021, ongoing
Income amount: up to $1,000 a month for three years
Number of participants: 1,200 low-income mothers

Location: Hudson
Program name: HudsonUp
Duration: five years, with staggered cohorts launched in fall 2020, 2021, and 2023
Income amount: $500 a month for five years
Number of participants: 128 households

A 17-month program in Ulster County that provided basic income to 100 households ended in September 2022. Another program in Ithaca gave a full year of cash payments to unpaid caregivers through May 2023. The nonprofit Creatives Rebuild New York also ran an 18-month basic-income pilot for artists affected by the pandemic, which ended in early 2024.

Oregon

Location: Portland
Program name: Black Resilience Fund
Duration: January 2023 to spring 2026
Income amount: up to $2,000 a month for three years
Number of participants: 25 Black households in Multnomah County

In November, voters opposed Oregon's universal-basic-income proposal to give all state residents $1,600 annually through taxing corporations.

Pennsylvania

Location: Philadelphia
Program name: PHLHousing+
Duration: fall 2022 to spring 2025
Income amount: $89 to $2,079 a month for 30 months, depending on household income
Number of participants: 300 renter households from the Philadelphia Housing Authority's Housing Choice Voucher or public-housing waitlist

Location: Philadelphia
Program name: Philly Joy Bank
Duration: launched in summer 2024
Income amount: $1,000 a month for 18 months
Number of participants: 250 low-income pregnant people

Texas

Location: San Antonio
Program name: UpTogether San Antonio
Duration: summer 2023 to December 2024
Income amount: $500 a month for 18 months
Number of participants: 25 low-income families

Location: Harris County
Program name: Uplift Harris
Duration: initially scheduled to begin in April 2024, but the Houston-area basic-income program is delayed because of a state Supreme Court ruling
Income amount: $500 a month for 18 months
Number of participants: 1,928 low-income households

An earlier San Antonio program offered $5,108 to 1,000 families over a 25-month period that began in December 2020. The Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot gave its participants $1,000 a month ending in May 2023. Additionally, Altman's GBI program that began in 2019 gave 3,000 Texas and Illinois residents $1,000 a month for three years.

Virginia

Location: Richmond
Program name: Richmond Resilience Initiative
Duration: two-year program beginning October 2020, with staggered cohorts planned through spring 2025
Income amount: $500 a month for 24 months
Number of participants: 94 low-income families with children

Location: Alexandria
Program name: Alexandria Recurring Income for Success and Equity
Duration: spring 2023 to spring 2025
Income amount: $500 a month for 24 months
Number of participants: 170 low-income people

• Buying a home in America today is no walk in the park.
• Buyers have higher mortgage rates and larger down payments.
• Nine charts capture how homebuying has become a larger challenge over the years.

Feel like buying a home is tougher than ever? You're not the only one.

Homebuyers are older than ever, make more money, and are less likely to have young children at home, based on historical data on homebuyers from the National Association of Realtors, or NAR.

These trends have largely resulted from declining housing affordability over the past several decades, Brandi Snowden, NAR's director of member and consumer survey research, told Business Insider.

"We're seeing that affordability is becoming increasingly difficult, with higher incomes needed to enter the market," Snowden said. "Buyers are also facing limited inventory, so they often need to search longer to find the right home."

Here are nine charts that show how the state of US homeownership has changed over the last several decades.

Data from the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development showed the median sales price of new houses in the US surged during the pandemic, reaching a peak of $442,600 in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Rising prices have made it more difficult for Americans, especially first-time homebuyers, to break into homeownership, as real median household income growth hasn't kept up.

"We've seen that first-time homebuyers have needed to be wealthier in order to be successful homebuyers, especially with rising home prices and interest rates," Snowden said.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has generally been rising this fall.

It was 6.84% as of the week ending November 21. While that's lower than a year ago and below the recent nearly 8% peak in October 2023, it's still a relatively high rate.

A higher rate plus more expensive homes leads to bigger monthly mortgage payments.

"A challenge for first-time homebuyers is higher mortgage rates, especially over the last year," Snowden said. "It could be a factor in their delaying a home purchase."

The typical down payment homebuyers put down has also been generally rising since the Great Recession.

The median down payment was 8% in 2009 and 2010. In 2024, though, it's typical for a homebuyer to make an 18% down payment.

Down payments of this size are not unprecedented: The median hit 20% in 1989 and 18% in 2001.

"We see that a large share of homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, rely on gifts or loans from family and friends," Snowden said. "They may also be tapping into stocks, bonds, or even their 401(k) for their down payment."

Snowden said that homebuyers may opt for a larger down payment that can help offset the mortgage interest rate with a lower monthly payment.

The climb in the median household income for people purchasing a home for the first time suggests Americans typically need to make closer to six figures to become homeowners.

In 1984, the typical household made $22,420 a year — or around $66,000 in 2023 dollars —while the typical first-time buyer made nearly $31,000 — or around $91,000 in 2023 dollars. In 2023, the median household income was around $80,600, and first-time homebuyers made $97,000.

Zillow research published earlier this year said people have to make over $106,000, 80% higher than what was needed in January 2020, "to comfortably afford a home."

Median incomes for homebuyers dipped in 2021 in part due to the kinds of areas people were moving to.

"Lower median income may be a reflection of buyers purchasing in more affordable locations such as small towns," a NAR report said, adding, "and an increased share of senior buyers who may be retired."

The share of first-time homebuyers dropped to just 24% in 2024, down from 32% in 2023 and a record 50% in 2010. This marks the lowest percentage since NAR began tracking the data in 1981.

The pullback in homebuying demand has been largely driven by the ongoing affordability crisis, compounded by a shrinking supply of entry-level homes.

There are fewer of these types of homes — typically smaller and more affordable for first-time buyers — on the market than there used to be, and the ones that are for sale are more expensive.

"We're seeing that the most difficult step for successful homebuyers is finding the right property," Snowden said.

In 2024, the median age of first-time buyers was 38, nine years older than in 1981. Meanwhile, the median age of repeat buyers increased from 36 to 61.

Unlike repeat buyers, who tend to be older and have more wealth or home equity, many would-be first-time buyers — often younger people, like Gen Zers and millennials — lack the financial resources needed to purchase a home.

Snowden said that many people are spending money on expensive rents, student loans, credit card bills, and car loans that they would otherwise set aside for a down payment.

As a result, many are postponing their plans to buy. Others may abandon dreams of homeownership altogether.

The share of homebuyers without children under 18 years old in their homes has widened to 73%, 10 percentage points higher than a decade earlier.

People without the financial demands of raising children tend to enjoy greater financial flexibility. Some can save thousands of dollars each year — which could be directed toward a down payment or other homebuying costs.

Married or cohabitating couples without children are often referred to as DINKS — an acronym for "dual income, no kids." Data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances shows that DINKs typically have a median net worth exceeding $200,000.

In contrast, many households with children experience financial strain, as parents allocate a significant portion of their income to day care, medical bills, and school tuition — expenses that can make saving enough to buy a home more challenging.

In addition to couples who never had kids, many baby boomers and Gen Xers who had kids are now empty nesters and may be looking to downsize.

Since NAR started collecting data, single women homebuyers have outpaced single men homebuyers, but the gap has grown.

Single women made up 20% of all homebuyers in 2024, while the share of single men purchasing homes dropped to just 8%.

Snowden said single women are often drawn to homeownership for several reasons, including independence, divorce, and the responsibility of raising children.

Snowden said that single female buyers are typically older than their single male counterparts, with the median age for single women at 60 compared to 58 for single men. "These buyers could be recently divorced or purchasing a home for more than just themselves, but also for their children and parents," she said.

Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a news release that "current homeowners can more easily make housing trades using built-up housing equity for cash purchases or large down payments on dream homes."

First-time homebuyers, meanwhile, tend to have to go through the process of taking out a mortgage, potentially losing their chance on a housing bid to those who have money ready for their next home.

The share of homebuyers who paid in cash climbed from 7% in 2003 to 26% in 2024. Snowden said this data is based on primary residences only, excluding investor properties.

Have you recently bought a home, or are you thinking of buying one next year? Share with these reporters how your housing search has gone at [email protected] and [email protected].

• Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency aims to reduce the number of federal workers.
• Business Insider looked at the highest average salaries of federal civilian employees by occupation.
• The top 20 had average salaries over $160,000, with medical officers ranking No. 1.

Federal workers who are employed as medical officers, ship pilots, and general attorneys earn lucrative pay on average — but their jobs might be at risk under President-elect Donald Trump's new government efficiency initiative.

Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is spearheaded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The two leaders of the commission wrote in a recent opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal that they will aim to slash government spending and reduce head count at federal agencies, meaning government workers are at risk of losing their jobs.

Using US Office of Personnel Management data as of March, Business Insider looked at the average salaries of federal civilian employees for all agencies to see who is earning the most on average among hundreds of occupations.

Three of the five jobs with the highest average salaries were health-related. Medical officers, who largely worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs, had the highest average salary. Financial analysis workers rounded out the top 20 highest-paying jobs on average; their largest employer, with about 300 analysts, was the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Most of the top jobs were classified as white-collar by OPM.

Looking at the average salaries of workers within cabinet-level agencies regardless of occupation, the Department of Education and the Department of Energy had the highest, with averages over $140,000.

Musk and Ramaswamy floated in the op-ed requiring all federal employees to come into the office five days a week, which may lead to higher voluntary turnover. Office of Personnel Management data showed around 1.3 million federal civilian workers as of March were "eligible to participate in telework," many of whom were professional and administrative workers.

"DOGE intends to work with embedded appointees in agencies to identify the minimum number of employees required at an agency for it to perform its constitutionally permissible and statutorily mandated functions," Musk and Ramaswamy wrote.

Musk and Ramaswamy also suggested early retirement and severance packages to incentivize lower headcount but didn't provide further detail on the benefits they would offer impacted employees.

"The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail," Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition, previously told BI when asked about DOGE's plan for spending cuts. "He will deliver."

Are you a federal worker worried about your employment or looking to move into the private sector? Reach out to these reporters at [email protected] and [email protected] to share.