As the cost of homes has risen over the past two years, so have monthly mortgage payments. And for many, stories of a cooling housing market don’t seem to be happening in their neighborhoods.
A new report by business platform and loan marketplace, LendingTree, found that the average monthly mortgage payment in the U.S. is $2,317 — a steep increase from the recorded $1,427 in 2021, per data from U.S. Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey.
However, depending on where you live, the average monthly mortgage payment can be as low as $1,700 or as high as $3,600.
According to the report, West Virginia had the lowest monthly mortgage payments at an average of $1,700, about $600 below the national average. Followed by West Virginia was Kentucky ($1,711), Michigan ($1,742), and Mississippi ($1,759).
The low monthly mortgage payments are partly due to the low housing prices compared to the rest of the country. West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, and Mississippi were all among the top 15 most affordable states to buy a home in 2023, according to data from Homebuyer.com.
As for states with the highest monthly mortgage payments, Hawaii led the pack with an average of $3,696 a month — over $1,300 more than the national average, as well as 39.69% of monthly household income going towards mortgage payments.
Related: Housing Is Less Affordable Now Than at the Peak of the 2008 Housing Bubble
Hawaii was followed by California ($3,399), Massachusetts ($3,021), and Utah ($2,891).
To yield average monthly mortgage payments across the country, LendingTree used data from over 1.7 million mortgage offers given to users of the LendingTree platform from January 1 through March 31, 2023, along with income data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey.
Here are the 10 states with the lowest monthly mortgage payments in 2023:
1. West Virginia
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,700
Mortgage payment as a percentage of income: 28.22%
2. Kentucky
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,711
Mortgage payment as a percentage of income: 26.93%
3. Michigan
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,742
Mortgage payment as a percentage of income: 24.28%
4. Mississippi
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,757
Mortgage payment as a percentage of income: 30.98%
5. Ohio
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,759
Mortgage payment as a percentage of income:24.96%
6. Iowa
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,768
Mortgage payment as a percentage of income: 24.53%
7. Indiana
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,771
Mortgage payment as a percentage of income: 25.72%
8. Oklahoma
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,788
Mortgage payment as a percentage of income: 28.44%
9. Missouri
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,792
Mortgage payment as a percentage of income: 25.32%
10. Wisconsin
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,836
Mortgage payment as a percentage of income: 24.95%
You can see the full list, here.