The 15 toughest states for first-time homebuyers

While it turns out that millennials do, in fact, want to invest in real estate and purchase homes, it's easier said than done to become a first-time homebuyer - especially if you live in California or New York.

In many states, a lack of inventory and rising home prices are making it harder than ever for the under 35 set to buy their first place.

New data from Bankrate explores how first-time homebuyers fare in all 50 US states, considering five factors:

• Housing affordability: Percentage of median household income for required for 25- to 44-year-olds to cover mortgage payments (using the median sale price)
• Entry-level job market: Five-year average unemployment rate for 25- to 34-year-olds
• Market tightness: Growth in housing stock from 2010 to 2015 and the percentage of homes for sale
• Credit availability: Percentage of home loans rejected by credit lenders
• Millennial homeownership rate: Percentage of homeowners under 35

Bankrate weighted each category equally to determine its ranking. California, New York, and Hawaii stood out as the toughest states for new homebuyers, while Midwestern locales, such as Iowa and Minnesota, proved the easiest.

Read on to check out the 15 states where it's toughest to enter the housing market for the first time.

The metrics included below were all used to calculate Bankrate's ranking, with the exception of median home value, which was sourced independently from Zillow.