This ratio provides a rough estimate of the affordability of homes in a community. A ratio less than 2 or 3 is considered affordable. High housing costs can force households to choose between paying for housing and meeting other basic needs such as food, clothing and health care.

Westchester County homes were most unaffordable for Hispanic and African American homeowners, with ratios of 5.6 and 5.4 respectively, followed by whites (4.2) and Asians (3.8). Compared to the U.S., Westchester was less affordable for all groups, except Asians; while it was more affordable for all groups , except for whites, compared to the state.

Among comparison counties, Westchester has the highest cost ratio for Hispanic and African American homeowners, followed by Rockland with a 5.2 ratio for Hispanics and a 4.1 ratio for African Americans. It has the second highest rate among Asian homeowners, just behind Nassau at 3.9.

Historic and current policies and systems, from racist housing policies to employment discrimination to education systems that fail to equitably serve all populations, have prevented people of color from fully participating in our economy, locking them out of economic opportunity. This has resulted in lower incomes for people of color, which means housing costs are a greater burden.

Data are presented in 2020 dollars. Multi-year data are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, Public Use Microdata Sample, which paired up four counties (Orleans/Genesee, Wyoming/Livingston) due to relatively small populations. The American Community Survey combines five years of responses to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census.