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Volume XXVI, Number XLII | October 15, 2026
THIS WEEK'S NUMBER
26th of 50
Tallahassee ranks 26th of the 50 state capital cities for affordability, right in the middle. I looked at every one the same way, comparing what a typical home there is worth with what a typical household there earns.
Affordability here means the monthly loan payment on a typical home as a share of the median household's monthly income, where half of households earn more and half earn less. The lower the share, the less of its paycheck a typical household spends on its monthly mortgage payment.
Homes here cost less than in most capitals, but households here also earn less than in almost every other one.
How Do Other Capitals Compare?
In Tallahassee, the payment takes 28.9% of the median household's monthly income. That puts it between Raleigh (28.6%) and Richmond (30.3%). Tallahassee's share is also higher than every other Deep South capital's on the chart: Montgomery's 22.3% is the lowest, and Atlanta's 28.0% is the closest.
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What Does the Typical Household Earn?
Tallahassee's median household income is $65,261, the 4th lowest of any state capital. That smaller paycheck, not the price of homes, is what holds Tallahassee in the middle.
What It Means for You
In Tallahassee, a typical home is worth about $284,000. The monthly mortgage payment on it is $1,574.
As I worked on this, I got to thinking about property taxes and homeowners insurance. Neither is in that payment, and in Florida both matter. I wondered how they would change the rankings.
Are you curious what true affordability looks like once taxes and insurance are counted? In Monday's article, I rank all 50 state capitals, not just the 14 on this chart. I measure them the same way, but with the whole monthly payment: principal, interest, taxes and insurance.
COMING MONDAY
State Capital Affordability With Taxes and Insurance Added
See where Tallahassee lands in the full ranking, with insurance estimated from each state's average. The article publishes Monday morning and will be the first entry on my articles page.
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Until later,
Joe Manausa MBA
Joe Manausa Team at Xcellence Realty
Sources and method: Home values are Zillow's typical values for August 2026. Each payment is for a 30-year loan with a 20% down payment, at the 7.40% average fixed rate Freddie Mac reported. The payment does not include property taxes or homeowners insurance.
Incomes are median household incomes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Those are survey estimates, so capitals a few places apart could trade spots. The chart includes 14 of the 50 capitals.