Home Affordability in Kentucky: Analyzing Housing Prices Against Household Income, 2000–2024

This study examines housing affordability in Kentucky from 2000 to 2024 by combining home value data from the Zillow Home Value Index with median household income and 30-year mortgage rate data from FRED. A price-to-income ratio and related affordability metrics were constructed for each year to identify the most and least affordable years to buy a home, and to compare the recent (2020–2024) price run-up to the period preceding the 2008 housing crisis. The analysis finds that 2000, 2001, and 2013 were the most affordable years, while 2022–2024 were the least affordable, with current price-to-income growth exceeding the pace seen before the 2008 crash.