Top Ten Least Afordable Places To Live

According to a new report, greater Los Angeles ranks as the least affordable metro area in the country.

In fact, the report by the California Building Industry Association found that nineteen of the top twenty least affordable metropolitan areas are located in California.

The report is sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Bank. Called the Housing Opportunity Index, the report calculates the percentage of homes sold in an area during a three-month period that were affordable to a family earning the median income for the region.

Greater Los Angeles, which includes Long Beach and Glendale, was the least affordable area studied, with only a 1.9% affordability.

Greater Orange County was second, with every single spot in the top 10 located in California.

Metropolitan New York City was the only non-California city, ranking at number 11.

Only 57% of Californians own their own homes. The national average for home ownership is 70%.

Nationwide, the affordability index stands at 40.6%. This means that only 40.6% of households with median incomes are able to afford the median home in the area.

The top ten least affordable metro areas in the US in the second quarter of 2006 were:

1. Los Angeles/Long Beach/Glendale -- 1.9
2. Santa Ana/Anaheim/Irvine -- 3.2
3. Salinas -- 3.5
4. Merced -- 3.6
5. Modesto -- 4.1
6. San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos -- 4.6
7. Santa Cruz/Watsonville -- 4.8
8. Santa Barbara/Santa Maria -- 5.3
9. Napa -- 5.4
10. San Luis Obispo/Paso Robles -- 5.9