The Miami metro area got a failing grade in affordability, according to a recent report by Realtor.com.
The report grades metros based on homebuilding and affordability on a scale from A through F. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale area
was one of 13 metros to receive the worst possible grade, with an overall score of 29 out of 100 possible points. It scored an 18.9 for affordability components and a 39.1 for homebuilding components.For homebuilding, "80% of the score comes from the permit to population ratio," with the remaining 20% coming from "the new construction premium." Half of the affordability score is determined by "how much of the median earner's income is spent on a mortgage payment for the median-priced home," and the other half is determined by what
share of "for-sale inventory is affordable to households at different income levels."
A score ranging from zero to 30 gets a metro an F.
Which metros received failing grades?
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA: F
- Providence-Warwick, RI-MA: F
- New York-Newark, NY-NJ: F
- Urban Honolulu, HI: F
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: F
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA: F
- San Francisco-Oakland, CA: F
- Worcester, MA: F
- San Diego, CA: F
- Stockton-Lodi, CA: F
- San Jose-Sunnyvale, CA: F
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL: F
- Riverside, CA: F
Which metros received the best grades?
- Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA: A+
- Raleigh-Cary, NC: A+
- Columbia, SC: A
- Houston, TX: A
- Indianapolis, IN: A
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: A-
- Jacksonville, FL: A-
- Oklahoma City, OK: A-
- Palm Bay-Melbourne, FL: A-
- Columbus, OH: A-
How expensive are homes in Miami-Dade County, Florida?
Homebuying in Miami-Dade County can be expensive. Realtor.com says the median listing price for homes in the area was $589,000 as of Sept., while the median listing price in Florida at large was $414,900.
According to this year's Housing Mismatch Report, released in May, the Miami metro area also has a significant shortage of affordable listings for many of those looking to buy homes. The report was produced as a collaborative effort between Realtor.com and the National Association of Realtors.
The report tracks "listing-income alignment" scores, which show how "well the current distribution of home listings matches the distribution of household incomes in a given market." Essentially, "if a household at every income level tried to buy a home today, would they find listings proportional to their share of the local population?"
A score of 100%, for instance, means that listings are well-distributed across all income tiers, while a score of 75% would mean that, on average, households have access to 75% of what a "balanced market would offer them."
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area had a significant shortage of affordable housing for all incomes in March of 2026, according to the report, with a score of 67%. It's an improvement over the area's score in March of 2019, which was 64.1%.
Significant shortages are common in "fast-growth Sun Belt metros," according to the report.
Nationally, "middle-income households" faced the largest supply gap. Buyers that earn about $75,000 can afford homes priced up to about $261,140, according to the report, but homes priced below that point only account for about 23% of national listings. In a balanced market, 44% would be priced below that point.
Miami-Dade households struggled to make ends meet in 2024
Hundreds of thousands of Miami-Dade households were incapable of making ends meet, according to the most recent available data from United Way.
According to the 2026 State of ALICE in Florida report, which analyzes data from 2024, 155,328 households in Miami-Dade County were considered to be in poverty, up from 145,803 in 2023. Additionally, 408,619 households met the requirements for ALICE, an increase from 381,666 the year prior — the acronym stands for "Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed." It refers to "households that earn more than the federal poverty level, but less than the basic cost of living for the county."
Forty-one percent of households in Miami-Dade County were ALICE households, compared to the state average of 34%. Fifteen percent were in poverty, compared to the state average of 12%.
Within the county, there was also significant variation among ZIP codes. For instance, the percentage of households below the ALICE threshold — which includes ALICE households and those in poverty — ranged from 83% in both ZIP code 33142, which serves parts of Brownsville, and ZIP code 33128, which encompasses parts of Downtown, to 15% in ZIP code 33158, which serves parts of Deering Bay.
For the full chart and breakdown, visit United Way's Miami-Dade County data page.
Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Florida Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Miami area among least affordable metros, receives 'F' from Realtors
