What $600,000 of mortgage really costs
A $600,000 mortgage is high-cost-metro territory — or a lot of house elsewhere. It stays under the baseline conforming loan limit ($806,500 in 2025), so standard conforming rates apply. At this size, an eighth of a point is real money: $49 a month.
The full monthly bill is more than principal and interest. If this loan is 80% of the home's price ($750,000 home), national-average property tax (1.1%/yr) adds about $688/month and average insurance ($2,341/yr) another $195 — bringing the realistic total to roughly $4,675/month. Under the classic 28% housing ratio, that suggests around $200,357 of household income. Local taxes change this a lot — see the state-by-state comparison.