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Andrew Dehan writes about real estate and personal finance. His work has been published by Rocket Mortgage, Forbes Advisor and Business Insider. He’s also a poet, musician and nature-lover. He lives in metro Detroit with his wife and children.
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Kenneth Chavis IV is a senior wealth counselor at Versant Capital Management who provides investment management, complex wealth strategy, financial planning and tax advice to business owners, executives, medical doctors, and more.
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A monthly mortgage payment actually consists of several things. It includes the principal and interest on the loan, as well as additional items held in escrow accounts, such as homeowners insurance and property taxes, and any HOA fees.
For applicants in March 2024, the median mortgage payment was $2,201, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
Note that there’s a difference between “median” and “average.” The average (also known as the mean) is the sum of a set of numbers divided by the amount of numbers in the set, while the median is the midpoint in the set. Because an average can be skewed by high and low numbers, the median provides a more accurate picture.
Monthly mortgage payment statisticsThe biggest variable in a monthly mortgage payment is the size of the loan itself: the more you borrow, the more you pay each month. The figures in the table below are based on March 2024 median regional existing-home sale prices reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Note: To calculate the monthly principal and interest payment, we assume a 30-year mortgage at a fixed 6.9 percent interest rate and a 20 percent down payment.
| Home price | Loan size | Monthly mortgage payment |
|---|---|---|
| Source: National Association of Realtors | ||
| $292,400 | $233,920 | $1,541 |
| $359,100 | $287,280 | $1,892 |
| $434,600 | $347,680 | $2,290 |
| $603,000 | $482,400 | $3,177 |
Your mortgage payments will also vary depending on the type of mortgage you have. That’s because different mortgages come with different interest rates and fees. For this table, we’ll use the median home price for March 2024 — $393,500 — along with Bankrate’s current average APRs for each loan type, assuming a 30-year term.
| Loan type | Average APR | Monthly payment | Total interest paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional | 7.39% | $2,722 | $586,359 |
| FHA | 7.24% | $2,682 | $571,910 |
| VA | 7.32% | $2,703 | $579,606 |
It’s important to note that each of these loans can have fees added that will affect your payment. For instance, both conventional and FHA mortgages can include mortgage insurance premiums: how much they are depends on your down payment size. Similarly, VA loans have a funding fee that changes depending on your down payment.
Average monthly mortgage payments differ by region depending on factors like demand, the local housing market, the age of homes, average area income, area demographics and more.
| Region | Average monthly mortgage payment |
|---|---|
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Housing Survey, 2021 | |
| New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) | $1,640 |
| Middle Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania) | $1,453 |
| East North Central (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin) | $1,240 |
| West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota) | $1,140 |
| South Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia) | $1,397 |
| East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee) | $1,212 |
| West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas) | $1,219 |
| Mountain (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming) | $1,468 |
| Pacific (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington) | $1,939 |
Home prices have increased significantly in recent years — ever since the onset of the pandemic, in 2020. In 2022, mortgage rates began to rise rapidly, reaching levels not seen in two decades. They peaked at over 8 percent (for a 30-year fixed-rate conventional mortgage) in October 2023, before dropping down to around 7 percent by the end of the year.
The following table was created using data on new home sales from the U.S. Census Bureau, as well as Bankrate’s data on annual interest rates. Monthly payments assume the yearly average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 20 percent down payment.
| Year | Median monthly mortgage payment | Median new home sale price* | Average yearly interest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bankrate’s weekly survey of the nation’s largest lenders | |||
| 2023 | $2,268 | $426,167 | 7.00% |
| 2021 | $1,525 | $396,800 | 3.15% |
| 2019 | $1,242 | $320,250 | 4.13% |
| 2017 | $1,250 | $322,425 | 4.14% |
| 2015 | $1,122 | $294,150 | 3.99% |
| 2013 | $1,037 | $266,225 | 4.17% |
| 2011 | $927 | $224,900 | 4.65% |
The typical mortgage payment has several components: the loan principal, loan interest, taxes and insurance, also known as PITI.
Along with how much you pay for the home, how much you pay in interest, taxes and insurance can vary significantly by location. One municipality or county may have much higher property taxes than its neighbor. It’s important to research these details while shopping for a home to help you estimate your monthly mortgage payment.
The monthly cost of a mortgage goes well beyond repayment of the principal. You’ll have to factor in interest, taxes, homeowners insurance and potentially, mortgage insurance. All of these costs can vary depending on the home’s location, your finances, the loan type and the lender you choose. Weigh each of these factors when determining how much house you can afford.
Andrew Dehan writes about real estate and personal finance. His work has been published by Rocket Mortgage, Forbes Advisor and Business Insider. He’s also a poet, musician and nature-lover. He lives in metro Detroit with his wife and children.
