Compare two areas

Which of two cities or states has had more home price growth since any year?

Pick two states or metro areas and the month you have in mind. You get how much home prices rose in each, which is ahead and by how many points, what the same $100,000 home then is worth in each now, and the nation beside them, from the federal FHFA House Price Index with the math shown.

Two areas, one window

Choose the two areas and the start month, then press the button. The example below is a real result.

First areaSecond areaSince monthSince year

Informational only, not professional advice and not an appraisal. Each figure is an area’s average, which no particular house follows exactly.

Methodology

The formula. For each area, change = (index now ÷ index then) − 1 and per year = (index now ÷ index then)^{1 ÷ years} − 1, on the FHFA House Price Index, which measures how the prices of the same homes change between sales. The gap is one change minus the other, in percentage points. Both areas get the identical window: the quarter holding the start month to the latest published quarter.

Which series. FHFA’s all-transactions index, not seasonally adjusted, quarterly, from the master file (latest period 2026 Q2: the 50 states, the District of Columbia and 410 metro areas and divisions, from 1975; last pull 2026-09-28). The national series is shown for the same window. County and ZIP indexes are annual and are not offered here.

Levels are never compared. Each series has its own base period, so the printed index values are for checking each ratio against FHFA’s file, not for reading across the table. A higher index does not mean a more expensive area or a faster one.

What this comparison cannot know

Any particular house. Each figure is the area’s average. Renovations, condition, lot and neighborhood are not in it.
Sales the index never sees. Per FHFA’s own description, it is built from repeat sales and appraisals on conforming mortgages bought by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Cash, jumbo, FHA and VA purchases are not in it.
Price levels and inflation. It compares growth, not what homes cost, in the dollars of each date.
The future. The index is history. It is not an appraisal and not a forecast.

Last reviewed: September 2026. Data vintage: FHFA master file 2026 Q2.

Frequently asked questions

Can I compare a city with a state, or two states?

Yes. The list holds every state and every metro area FHFA publishes, and any two can be compared over the same window. A metro against its own state shows how far the metro sits from the state average; two metros in different states is the usual city-versus-city question.

Why not compare the index values themselves?

Each FHFA series is scaled to its own base period, so a value of 500 in one area and 300 in another says nothing about their prices or their growth. Only the ratio of two values within one series is a price change. The tool compares those changes over an identical window, which is the only comparison the index supports.

What does the gap in points mean?

The difference between the two percentage changes. If one area is +80% and the other +50%, the gap is 30 points. The dollar figure applies both changes to the same $100,000 so the gap is visible in money; it is not a difference in what homes cost, since the tool knows nothing about price levels.

Does a bigger rise mean the better place to have bought?

Only on the area average, in nominal dollars, and only over this window. A home bought in the faster area could still have done worse than one in the slower area, and a different start month can reverse the order. The crash and recovery tool shows how each area's history looked from its peak.

Guides

How to Compare Home Price Growth Between Two Cities Without Misreading the IndexIndex levels cannot be compared across cities; only changes over one window can. How to compare two areas' home price growth correctly, on Austin and Denver.

Related tools

Home Price Change Since Any Year

Pick a state or metro area and a month since 1975. See how much home prices have gone up since then, per year, with the FHFA index values and the same window for the state and the US.

Open tool →Home Price Growth by Metro Area Since Any Year

Pick a month since 1975 and see every US metro area ranked by how much home prices have risen since then, per year, with the nation beside them, from the FHFA index.

Open tool →How Far Did Home Prices Fall, and When Did They Recover?

Pick a state or metro area. See its biggest home price fall since 1975 on the FHFA index: the peak, the low, when prices got back, and how long a purchase at your date sat under water.

Open tool →