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housingHome Budget Fit

Score

Home Budget Fit

Scores places by how their median owner-occupied home value fits the buyer's target home price budget.

Scale0-100

Higher values rank better for this score.

How It's Calculated

Median home values equal to the $450,000 target budget score 80, values 10% over budget score about 44, and values far above budget can score below 0.

Scoring Method

How the ranking is built

Home Budget Fit rewards places where the median owner-occupied home value sits comfortably under the selected purchase budget.

  1. 1

    Divide ACS median home value by the selected target home price.

  2. 2

    Apply a logistic curve: 100 / (1 + exp(ln(4) / 0.085 * (ratio - 1.085))).

  3. 3

    A place at the target budget scores 80, 5% over budget scores about 64, 10% over scores about 44, and 20% over scores about 13.

  4. 4

    Beyond 25% over budget, ease in a logarithmic penalty so places far above budget can score below 0 instead of flattening at zero.

Technical details
Score TypeHome Budget Fit

Computed live from ACS median home value and the selected home-price budget.

Ranking BasisSingle Score

The top 10 below ignore your blended relocation weights and sort only by Home Budget Fit.

No source details available for this score.

What This Score Means

Home Budget Fit rewards places where the median owner-occupied home value sits comfortably under the selected purchase budget.

Statistics Feeding This Score

  • Median home value

    ACS median owner-occupied home value for the place.

    Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-Year
  • Target home price

    The selected purchase budget. Current default is $450,000.

    Source: User preference
  • Home-value-to-budget ratio

    Median home value divided by the selected target home price.

    Source: Derived from ACS and user preference

Source Data

Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-YearCensus ACS 5-year estimates for housing, income, population, occupation, education, and race/ethnicity inputs at place, county, or CBSA geography depending on the score.

Known Limits

  • ACS home values are multi-year estimates, not live real estate listings or current asking prices.
  • Place-level medians can hide neighborhood, property-condition, tax, HOA, insurance, and inventory differences.
  • A strong budget-fit score means the market is broadly aligned with the selected budget; a realtor and current listings are still needed before making a move.

Top 10 Locations

Ranked by Home Budget Fit.

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