Though home prices have remained steep after rapid growth during the height of the pandemic, paying $1 million or more for a house may seem excessive to most Americans. That said, just because most people aren’t spending seven figures on a house doesn’t mean million-dollar homes aren’t prevalent in some parts of the U.S.

To see where million-dollar houses are most common, LendingTree analyzed housing data to find the share of million-dollar homes in each of the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas. Here's what we found. 

• Million-dollar homes are relatively uncommon in most of the country. An average of 6.68% of owner-occupied homes in the nation’s 50 largest metros in 2021 were valued at $1 million or more. However, the share of million-dollar homes is growing. According to our research last year, an average of just 4.71% of owner-occupied homes in the nation’s 50 largest metros in 2020 were valued at $1 million or more.
• San Jose and San Francisco, Calif., have the largest share of million-dollar homes. Respectively, 66.28% and 52.91% of owner-occupied homes in these metros are worth $1 million or more — making them the only two in our study where a majority of homes are worth at least $1 million.
• Including San Jose and San Francisco, the four metros with the highest percentage of million-dollar homes are in California.
• Only four metros — Buffalo, N.Y., Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Louisville, Ky. — have fewer than 1.00% of owner-occupied homes valued at at least $1 million. 

You can check out our full report here: https://www.lendingtree.com/home/cities-with-the-largest-share-of-million-dollar-homes/

LendingTree's Senior Economist and report author, Jacob Channel, had this to say:

"Remember that million-dollar homes aren’t always synonymous with “luxury homes.” On the contrary, a home worth a million dollars may be seen as firmly middle-class and anything but extravagant in many places, like San Jose and San Francisco. Unless a concerted effort is made to build more affordable housing, especially in the nation’s big cities, million-dollar-plus homes are going to become more and more common, even if they don’t become more affordable.”