Dallas is the most affordable place to live in the U.S.

Dallas is the most-affordable major metropolitan area to live in the United States, according to a report by ZipRealty, which measures the national housing market.

The ranking is based on median household income and the median home prices. This is the first year ZipRealty has compiled this data, which measures 30 metropolitan areas throughout the country.

Dallas' median household income is $47,418 with the median home price of $249,950, which gives it a home price to median income ratio of 5.27. That ratio of home price to income is the lowest in the country, said Lanny Baker, president and CEO of Calfornia-based ZipRealty Inc. (NASDAQ: ZIPR)

"My sense is that the economy in Dallas is healthier today than it's been for awhile," Baker said, attributing his opinion to North Texas' stable income levels. "That hasn't yet translated into higher housing values."
The favorable ratio of income to housing prices could bring in folks from other parts of the country, where housing prices are higher than Dallas. The median home price throughout the country is $299,500, which is about $50,000 more than Dallas' median home price.

"Dallas isn't inflating as fast as other areas of the country," Baker said, adding that San Francisco, Sacramento and Las Vegas are seeing significantly higher home prices year-over-year through the first quarter of 2013.

Houston has the second-most-affordable housing market, followed by Minneapolis, with a 5.43 and a 5.5 index, respectively, Baker said.
Some of the most expensive places to live in the country based off the index include Washington, D.C., Brooklyn and the San Francisco area.

Written by Candace Carlisle - http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/03/20/why-dallas-is-the-most-affordable.html?iana=ind_rre