San Jose has landed in the global spotlight for a distinction no city really wants. A new international ranking has crowned it the least affordable housing market on the planet, finding that even a dual-income couple earning the local average salary could only afford a bit more than half of a typical home here.
The ranking, part of Remitly's "Planet Property" study, compared 151 cities using standard mortgage assumptions, income data, and local property prices. According to Remitly, a couple making the average local income of $86,605 could afford just 54.6% of the average San Jose home. California's coastal heavyweights, including Los Angeles, San Diego, and Long Beach, also crowd the bottom of the affordability list.
Local Reaction: 'It Matches What We See'
On the ground, the ranking did not shock people who work in housing every day. Local real estate agents and advocates said the chart simply confirms what their clients and neighbors already feel in their wallets.
"Because we have a shortage of housing for the number of people that are here, and then we have a large discrepancy of wages," realtor Lynside Gridley told NBC Bay Area. Kelly Batson of United Way Bay Area added that "there's just not enough affordable units," echoing concerns the nonprofit has been raising in regional housing debates.
Building Pipeline Is Drying Up
Recent construction trends help explain why the squeeze keeps getting tighter. A San Jose Spotlight analysis found the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro issued about 68% fewer building permits in July 2025 than it did in July 2020, sharply shrinking the pipeline of new rentals and for-sale homes.
Developers told San José Spotlight that high city fees and rising construction costs are making more projects financially impossible, even in a market where demand is clearly not the problem.
Prices Keep Beating Paychecks
The thin supply is evident in the sales data. Redfin reported San Jose as the most expensive U.S. metro in 2025, with a median sale price above $1.6 million, a figure that towers over typical local earnings.
That pattern is mirrored in national research, with market trackers such as SmartAsset placing San Jose at or near the top of the country's priciest housing markets, reinforcing just how wide the gap has become between home values and ordinary paychecks.
What It Means For Buyers And Renters
The fallout is not limited to lower-wage workers. Middle-income households and even high earners are feeling the pinch, and local employers worry about what that means for keeping talent in the region.
United Way Bay Area has warned that people with what used to be considered solid salaries are also getting pushed out. "And honestly, I think it's become unaffordable for people with higher incomes as well," Batson told NBC Bay Area, flagging growing fears over displacement and long-term workforce stability.
Policy Moves And What Comes Next
City officials have responded with fee reductions and incentives for multifamily projects and say a general plan review is underway to clear development bottlenecks. Housing advocates argue that these steps are only a start and that San Jose will need far bolder action if it wants to meaningfully shift the numbers.
Observers interviewed by San José Spotlight point to a mix of streamlined permitting, targeted subsidies, and tighter regional coordination as the kinds of moves that could finally change the math that put San Jose at the top of Remitly's list.
For now, the Remitly study is a blunt reminder that San Jose's housing headache has become an international outlier, with serious consequences for families and businesses alike. The full analysis is available from Remitly, and local leaders say it will take new supply, policy shifts, and targeted subsidies to make the market even remotely workable for more residents.
