San Jose is officially the least affordable city to buy a home in the world, and that’s not a local exaggeration. It’s one of the first data points in the 2026 Silicon Valley Pain Index, the seventh annual report from San Jose State University’s Human Rights Institute. The jarring fact sadly sets the tone for what follows in the report: more than 300 statistics pulled from over 250 sources arranged from smallest to largest, telling a comprehensive story of the region’s inequality.
Set aside individually, the data is staggering. The median single-family home in Silicon Valley sold for $1.98 million in 2025, more than $1.1 million above the state median. Roughly 0.1% of homes sold for under $500,000. Meanwhile, 0.1% of households have more than $30 million in investable assets, and the top 10% of residents control 75% of the area’s $1.17 trillion in liquid wealth. The bottom half holds less than 1%. In terms of pay, a tech worker’s salary outpaces a food service worker’s by more than $400,000.
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