Greeneville has the least affordable housing market in the Tri-Cities region according to data from the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank’s Affordable Housing Tracker.
Washington Co. VA is the most affordable markets as ranked by the share of an owner median income spent on housing.
The benchmark for affordability is 30% of a resident’s income spent on housing.
Affordability in the Tri-Cities region has been declining since 2019 as the price of homes and rents increased faster than wages.
A check of rental affordability by Apartment List shows almost half of all renters in the region are in the “cost burdened” class. That means they are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. The U.S. average for cost burdened renters is 51.9%.
Here’s the percentage of renters who are cost burdened in the local metro areas:
Johnson City metro – 48.5%
Kingsport-Bristol metro – 44.9%
Greeneville metro 40.8%
Here’s the regional county affordability countdown.
Total payment is the median monthly payment (P&I, tax, insurance, PMI)
Washington Co.
Total payment – $2,306
Share of median income – 36%
Carter Co.
Total payment – $1,788
Share of median income – 38%
Unicoi Co.
Total payment – $1,667
Share of median income – 33.9%
Hawkins Co.
Total payment – $1,588
Share of median income – 31.3%
Sullivan Co.
Total payment – $1,798
Share of median income – 36%
Scott Co. VA
Total payment – $1,329
Share of median income – 31.9%
Washington Co. VA
Total payment – $1,908
Share of median income – 29.8%
Greeneville Co.
Total payment – $1,837
Share of median income – 43.2%