What the First Year of Homeownership Costs in America’s 50 Biggest Cities
Owning a home isn’t cheap for anyone, especially if you live in California. A new MoneyLion study reveals the first year of homeownership costs more than $200,000 in five popular California metros: San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles and Long Beach.
To determine these costs, MoneyLion looked at America’s 50 biggest housing markets (via Zillow). Each city’s average home value, mortgage cost, 10% down payment, typical closing costs (assuming 3.5% of total home price), annual property taxes, and annual homeowners’ insurance were sourced and combined to give each city a total first year homeownership cost, ranked by most to least expensive.
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Key Findings
The first year of homeownership costs more than $100,000 in 15 U.S. cities. The cities and their totals include San Francisco ($331,845); San Jose ($321,991); San Diego ($244,566); Los Angeles ($220,216); Long Beach ($203,361); Seattle ($197,961); New York ($189,960); Boston ($183,043); Miami ($157,943); Washington, D.C. ($157,807); Denver ($128,250); Portland, Oregon ($122,277); Austin, Texas ($119,904); Sacramento, California ($105,964); and Colorado Springs, Colorado ($102,935).
Only three ranking cities have first-year homeownership costs under $50,000. They are Baltimore ($44,129); Memphis, Tennessee ($37,539); and Detroit ($22,689).
Monthly mortgage payments exceed $1,000 in all but two ranking cities: Memphis ($950) and Detroit ($457).
From coast to coast, here is what residents in 50 major cities can anticipate spending their first year as homeowners.
1. San Francisco
Average home value (2026): $1,523,058
10% down payment: $152,306
Monthly mortgage: $9,491
Typical closing costs: $53,307
Annual property taxes owed: $10,966
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $331,845
2. San Jose, California
Average home value (2026): $1,480,737
10% down payment: $148,074
Monthly mortgage: $9,227
Typical closing costs: $51,826
Annual property taxes owed: $10,069
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $321,991
3. San Diego
Average home value (2026): $1,122,504
10% down payment: $112,250
Monthly mortgage: $6,995
Typical closing costs: $39,288
Annual property taxes owed: $7,521
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $244,566
4. Los Angeles
Average home value (2026): $1,008,560
10% down payment: $100,856
Monthly mortgage: $6,285
Typical closing costs: $35,300
Annual property taxes owed: $6,757
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $220,216
5. Long Beach, California
Average home value (2026): $931,696
10% down payment: $93,170
Monthly mortgage: $5,806
Typical closing costs: $32,609
Annual property taxes owed: $6,242
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $203,361
6. Seattle
Average home value (2026): $903,251
10% down payment: $90,325
Monthly mortgage: $5,629
Typical closing costs: $31,614
Annual property taxes owed: $6,865
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $197,961
7. New York
Average home value (2026): $862,587
10% down payment: $86,259
Monthly mortgage: $5,375
Typical closing costs: $30,191
Annual property taxes owed: $6,469
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $189,960
8. Boston
Average home value (2026): $834,746
10% down payment: $83,475
Monthly mortgage: $5,202
Typical closing costs: $29,216
Annual property taxes owed: $5,760
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $183,043
9. Miami
Average home value (2026): $658,736
10% down payment: $65,874
Monthly mortgage: $4,105
Typical closing costs: $23,056
Annual property taxes owed: $5,336
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $157,943
10. Washington, D.C.
Average home value (2026): $724,253
10% down payment: $72,425
Monthly mortgage: $4,513
Typical closing costs: $25,349
Annual property taxes owed: $4,346
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $157,807
11. Denver
Average home value (2026): $567,000
10% down payment: $56,700
Monthly mortgage: $3,533
Typical closing costs: $19,845
Annual property taxes owed: $2,665
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $128,250
12. Portland, Oregon
Average home value (2026): $548,995
10% down payment: $54,900
Monthly mortgage: $3,421
Typical closing costs: $19,215
Annual property taxes owed: $5,600
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $122,277
13. Austin, Texas
Average home value (2026): $523,972
10% down payment: $52,397
Monthly mortgage: $3,265
Typical closing costs: $18,339
Annual property taxes owed: $6,864
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $119,904
14. Sacramento, California
Average home value (2026): $480,918
10% down payment: $48,092
Monthly mortgage: $2,997
Typical closing costs: $16,832
Annual property taxes owed: $3,655
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $105,964
15. Colorado Springs, Colorado
Average home value (2026): $450,445
10% down payment: $45,045
Monthly mortgage: $2,807
Typical closing costs: $15,766
Annual property taxes owed: $2,027
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $102,935
16. Nashville, Tennessee
Average home value (2026): $442,339
10% down payment: $44,234
Monthly mortgage: $2,756
Typical closing costs: $15,482
Annual property taxes owed: $2,521
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $98,266
17. Las Vegas
Average home value (2026): $447,214
10% down payment: $44,721
Monthly mortgage: $2,787
Typical closing costs: $15,652
Annual property taxes owed: $2,326
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $98,074
18. Raleigh, North Carolina
Average home value (2026): $439,514
10% down payment: $43,951
Monthly mortgage: $2,739
Typical closing costs: $15,383
Annual property taxes owed: $3,033
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $97,883
19. Atlanta
Average home value (2026): $435,423
10% down payment: $43,542
Monthly mortgage: $2,713
Typical closing costs: $15,240
Annual property taxes owed: $3,875
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $97,657
20. Mesa, Arizona
Average home value (2026): $443,674
10% down payment: $44,367
Monthly mortgage: $2,765
Typical closing costs: $15,529
Annual property taxes owed: $1,952
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $97,519
21. Virginia Beach, Virginia
Average home value (2026): $431,584
10% down payment: $43,158
Monthly mortgage: $2,689
Typical closing costs: $15,105
Annual property taxes owed: $3,366
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $97,449
22. Orlando, Florida
Average home value (2026): $401,583
10% down payment: $40,158
Monthly mortgage: $2,502
Typical closing costs: $14,055
Annual property taxes owed: $3,293
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $94,224
23. Phoenix
Average home value (2026): $418,197
10% down payment: $41,820
Monthly mortgage: $2,606
Typical closing costs: $14,637
Annual property taxes owed: $1,840
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $92,256
24. Charlotte, North Carolina
Average home value (2026): $401,767
10% down payment: $40,177
Monthly mortgage: $2,504
Typical closing costs: $14,062
Annual property taxes owed: $2,772
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $89,318
25. Fresno, California
Average home value (2026): $396,550
10% down payment: $39,655
Monthly mortgage: $2,471
Typical closing costs: $13,879
Annual property taxes owed: $3,014
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $87,670
26. Bakersfield, California
Average home value (2026): $389,683
10% down payment: $38,968
Monthly mortgage: $2,428
Typical closing costs: $13,639
Annual property taxes owed: $3,468
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $86,705
27. Albuquerque, New Mexico
Average home value (2026): $345,741
10% down payment: $34,574
Monthly mortgage: $2,154
Typical closing costs: $12,101
Annual property taxes owed: $2,939
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $78,346
28. Dallas
Average home value (2026): $319,617
10% down payment: $31,962
Monthly mortgage: $1,992
Typical closing costs: $11,187
Annual property taxes owed: $4,634
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $76,784
29. Chicago
Average home value (2026): $320,598
10% down payment: $32,060
Monthly mortgage: $1,998
Typical closing costs: $11,221
Annual property taxes owed: $5,546
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $76,264
30. Tucson, Arizona
Average home value (2026): $330,815
10% down payment: $33,082
Monthly mortgage: $2,061
Typical closing costs: $11,579
Annual property taxes owed: $2,316
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $73,951
31. Fort Worth, Texas
Average home value (2026): $295,453
10% down payment: $29,545
Monthly mortgage: $1,841
Typical closing costs: $10,341
Annual property taxes owed: $4,550
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $72,282
32. Omaha, Nebraska
Average home value (2026): $293,790
10% down payment: $29,379
Monthly mortgage: $1,831
Typical closing costs: $10,283
Annual property taxes owed: $4,759
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $71,458
33. Jacksonville, Florida
Average home value (2026): $296,965
10% down payment: $29,697
Monthly mortgage: $1,851
Typical closing costs: $10,394
Annual property taxes owed: $2,227
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $68,676
34. Houston
Average home value (2026): $267,859
10% down payment: $26,786
Monthly mortgage: $1,669
Typical closing costs: $9,375
Annual property taxes owed: $4,018
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $65,497
35. Louisville, Kentucky
Average home value (2026): $267,215
10% down payment: $26,722
Monthly mortgage: $1,665
Typical closing costs: $9,353
Annual property taxes owed: $2,271
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $62,508
36. Columbus, Ohio
Average home value (2026): $267,319
10% down payment: $26,732
Monthly mortgage: $1,666
Typical closing costs: $9,356
Annual property taxes owed: $4,090
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $62,305
37. Kansas City, Missouri
Average home value (2026): $250,931
10% down payment: $25,093
Monthly mortgage: $1,564
Typical closing costs: $8,783
Annual property taxes owed: $2,836
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $59,890
38. Cincinnati
Average home value (2026): $254,049
10% down payment: $25,405
Monthly mortgage: $1,583
Typical closing costs: $8,892
Annual property taxes owed: $3,836
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $59,284
39. San Antonio
Average home value (2026): $248,565
10% down payment: $24,857
Monthly mortgage: $1,549
Typical closing costs: $8,700
Annual property taxes owed: $3,853
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $58,766
40. Rochester, New York
Average home value (2026): $236,602
10% down payment: $23,660
Monthly mortgage: $1,474
Typical closing costs: $8,281
Annual property taxes owed: $5,702
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $56,745
41. Buffalo, New York
Average home value (2026): $242,072
10% down payment: $24,207
Monthly mortgage: $1,508
Typical closing costs: $8,473
Annual property taxes owed: $4,164
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $56,741
42. El Paso, Texas
Average home value (2026): $236,264
10% down payment: $23,626
Monthly mortgage: $1,472
Typical closing costs: $8,269
Annual property taxes owed: $4,253
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $55,655
43. Indianapolis
Average home value (2026): $233,258
10% down payment: $23,326
Monthly mortgage: $1,454
Typical closing costs: $8,164
Annual property taxes owed: $2,076
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $54,070
44. Pittsburgh
Average home value (2026): $234,753
10% down payment: $23,475
Monthly mortgage: $1,463
Typical closing costs: $8,216
Annual property taxes owed: $3,451
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $54,039
45. Milwaukee
Average home value (2026): $224,418
10% down payment: $22,442
Monthly mortgage: $1,398
Typical closing costs: $7,855
Annual property taxes owed: $4,084
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $53,044
46. Philadelphia
Average home value (2026): $225,674
10% down payment: $22,567
Monthly mortgage: $1,406
Typical closing costs: $7,899
Annual property taxes owed: $1,918
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $51,273
47. Oklahoma City
Average home value (2026): $207,437
10% down payment: $20,744
Monthly mortgage: $1,293
Typical closing costs: $7,260
Annual property taxes owed: $1,908
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $51,010
48. Baltimore
Average home value (2026): $186,310
10% down payment: $18,631
Monthly mortgage: $1,161
Typical closing costs: $6,521
Annual property taxes owed: $2,552
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $44,129
49. Memphis, Tennessee
Average home value (2026): $152,522
10% down payment: $15,252
Monthly mortgage: $950
Typical closing costs: $5,338
Annual property taxes owed: $1,479
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $37,539
50. Detroit
Average home value (2026): $73,285
10% down payment: $7,329
Monthly mortgage: $457
Typical closing costs: $2,565
Annual property taxes owed: $1,077
Total cost for first year of homeownership: $22,689
Methodology: For this piece MoneyLion looked at America’s 50 biggest housing markets according to Zillow. MoneyLion first sourced the (1) 2026 average single-family residence home value from Zillow’s September 2026 data. MoneyLion, with this data, then studied the (2) annual cost of a mortgage assuming a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 7.40% as sourced from Freddie Mac on October 15, 2026, with (3) 10% down payment. MoneyLion also found (4) typical closing costs for each city assuming 3.5% of total home price (national average is 2% to 5%). MoneyLion then found the (5) annual property taxes for each city sourcing county average rates from Property Tax Explorer and (6) average annual homeowners insurance cost as sourced from insurance.com. Factors (2) through (6) were then combined to give each city (7) total first year ownership costs. All cities were ranked by factor (7) only. All data was collected and is up to date as of October 21, 2026.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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