Home Economics

As usual, California communities ranked high among the least affordable housing markets. Below are the 25 most affordable and 25 least affordable U.S. housing markets in the second quarter, according to the National Assn. of Home Builders. The number corresponding to each is the percentage of homes sold that were within reach of the median-income household atthe prevailing mortgage interest rate.

MOST AFFORDABLE

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Metro area Pct. of homes Rockford, Ill. 87.1 Elkhart, Ind. 86.7 Des Moines 85.5 Utica, N.Y. 84.9 Vineland, N.J. 84.7 Binghamton, N.Y. 84.6 Baton Rouge, La. 84.3 Nashua, N.H. 84.1 Davenport, Iowa 83.5 Melbourne, Fla. 83.0 Kansas City, Mo. 82.9 Lima, Ohio 82.8 Fayetteville, Ark. 82.4 Duluth, Minn. 82.0 Lakeland, Fla. 82.0 Beaumont, Texas 81.7 Lincoln, Neb. 81.5 Racine, Wis. 81.5 Pensacola, Fla. 80.9 Champaign, Ill. 80.9 Green Bay, Wis. 80.7 Minneapolis 80.3 Peoria, Ill. 80.1 Ocala, Fla. 80.1 Dayton, Ohio 79.7

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LEAST AFFORDABLE

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Metro area Pct. of homes San Francisco 22.3 Santa Cruz 26.0 Salinas, Calif. 29.2 Honolulu 30.8 Portland, Ore. 31.5 Santa Rosa, Calif. 31.8 San Luis Obispo 37.4 San Jose 40.1 Provo, Utah 40.5 San Diego 41.5 Oakland 42.8 Salem, Ore. 43.1 New York 43.3 Jersey City, N.J. 44.8 Los Angeles 45.7 Lowell, Mass. 45.9 Santa Barbara 47.5 El Paso 48.1 New Bedford, Mass. 48.1 Austin, Texas 48.7 Salt Lake City 49.4 Ventura 49.5 Danbury, Conn. 50.8 Chico, Calif. 51.5 Orange County, Calif. 52.8

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Source: Associated Press