ST. LOUIS – Saving up money to buy a home looks a lot different now compared to decades ago, perhaps even five years ago. High demand and high interest rates have inevitably led to higher homebuying costs.

Down payments are usually tens of thousands of dollars. In some cases, depending on where you look or what kind of home you’re looking for, they could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Prospective homebuyers in St. Louis have it a little better than other big markets around the United States, according to a recent study from real estate marketplace Zillow. That said, you’ll still need to save up.

According to Zillow, people looking to buy a home in San Diego should have an income of at least $76,895. That’s based on Zillow’s metric of “income needed to afford a mortgage” with data from January 2024 in mind.

At this rate, Zillow estimates it could take people nearly six years to even afford the 10% down payment in St. Louis.

Zillow reports a major shift in the housing market post-pandemic. Roughly four years ago, a household making $59,000 a year could comfortably afford the monthly mortgage on a typical U.S. home, despite the nationwide median income being about $66,000 at that time.

Now, U.S. homebuyers will need to make more than $106,000 annually, which is considerably more than the median household income of $74,580, per Zillow. The numbers are based on new U.S. Census data.

“Housing costs have soared over the past four years as drastic hikes in home prices, mortgage rates, and rent growth far outpaced wage gains,” said Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow via a news release on the study. “Buyers are getting creative to make a purchase pencil out, and long-distance movers are targeting less expensive and less competitive metros. Mortgage rates easing down has helped some, but the key to improving affordability long term is to build more homes.”

St. Louis is considered one of the Top 10 major markets in which a lower income could help homebuyers stretch their dollars to afford a home. Zillow lists Pittsburgh, Pa. ($58,232), Memphis, Tenn. ($69,976), Cleveland, Ohio ($70,810) as the top destinations in that regard.

The four cities at the bottom of the list were all in California. That includes, in order from least to most, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose. The incomes needed in those markets ranged from $273,000 to $455,000.