Getting married is more expensive than buying a house in these 3 Illinois cities
CHICAGO - Some couples who are looking to their future may have a difficult financial decision ahead of them: to get married or to buy a house.
In some places in the country, it’s actually more expensive to have a wedding than it is to buy a house, according to a Tuesday report from SmartAsset.
For its report, the financial technology company compared the 150 largest metro areas in the U.S. and compared them based on three metrics: average wedding cost, median home sales price and 13% down payment – which SmartAsset found by taking 13% of the median home sales price in each city, according to the methodology.
Aside from its top 10 ranking, SmartAsset also found that only 20 cities out of 150 had cities where a wedding was more expensive than a down payment on a house.
To see which cities made it to the top of the list, here are the 10 places where a wedding costs more than a down payment, according to SmartAsset.
1. Binghamton, New York
- Average wedding cost: $29,327
- Median home sales price: $127,700
- 13% down payment: $16,601
- How much more is a wedding than a house: 76.66%
2. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pennsylvania
- Average wedding cost: $22,634
- Median home sales price: $119,000
- 13% down payment: $15,470
- How much more is a wedding than a house: 46.31%
3. Erie, Pennsylvania
- Average wedding cost: $24,918
- Median home sales price: $135,100
- 13% down payment: $17,563
- How much more is a wedding than a house: 41.88%
4. Peoria, Illinois
- Average wedding cost: $23,514
- Median home sales price: $128,100
- 13% down payment: $16,653
- How much more is a wedding than a house: 41.20%
5. Syracuse, New York
- Average wedding cost: $29,293
- Median home sales price: $161,400
- 13% down payment: $20,982
- How much more is a wedding than a house: 39.61%
6. Rochester, New York
- Average wedding cost: $29,525
- Median home sales price: $170,400
- 13% down payment: $22,152
- How much more is a wedding than a house: 33.28%
7. Rockford, Illinois
- Average wedding cost: $23,355
- Median home sales price: $141,300
- 13% down payment: $18,369
- How much more is a wedding than a house: 27.14%
8. Buffalo-Cheektowaga, New York
- Average wedding cost: $28,106
- Median home sales price: $178,500
- 13% down payment: $23,205
- How much more is a wedding than a house: 21.2%
9. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Illinois
- Average wedding cost: $21,238
- Median home sales price: $142,800
- 13% down payment: $18,564
- How much more is a wedding than a house: 14.4%
ILLINOIS EXODUS: RESIDENTS LEAVING THE STATE IN DROVES, DATA SHOWS
10. York-Hanover, Pennsylvania
- Average wedding cost: $29,473
- Median home sales price: $199,300
- 13% down payment: $25,909
- How much more is a wedding than a house: 13.76%