Which GTA protagonist would have the highest housing costs today?
With Grand Theft Auto VI set to release on November 19, 2026, a new study reveals that Tommy Vercetti is the Grand Theft Auto protagonist whose homes would cost the most in today's money.
The study, conducted by Power Up Gaming, analyzed the homes of Grand Theft Auto protagonists across the series, matching each property to its real-world equivalent in the year the game is set and converting the cost into 2026 dollars, in order to discover which characters would face the biggest monthly housing bills, and where the new GTA VI duo fits in.
he 9 Grand Theft Auto protagonists whose homes would cost the most in today's money
Rank | Protagonist | Game | Set year | Homes | Homes owned | Combined monthly cost (2026 $)
1 | Tommy Vercetti | GTA Vice City | 1986 | 2 | 1 | $44,968
2 | Michael De Santa | GTA V | 2013 | 1 | 1 | $24,642
3 | Carl Johnson | GTA San Andreas | 1992 | 2 | 1 | $14,398
4 | Franklin Clinton | GTA V | 2013 | 2 | 1 | $11,439
5 | Niko Bellic | GTA IV | 2008 | 3 | 0 | $5,659
6 | Claude | GTA III | 2001 | 3 | 0 | $5,350
7 | Lucia Caminos | GTA VI | 2025 | 1 | 0 | $3,595
8 | Jason Duval | GTA VI | 2025 | 1 | 0 | $3,326
9 | Trevor Philips | GTA V | 2013 | 2 | 0 | $3,307
Tommy Vercetti leads the ranking, with his homes costing a combined $44,968 a month, across the Ocean View Hotel and the Vercetti Estate. That figure means the Vice City kingpin would pay $539,616 a year to keep a roof over his head, the equivalent of more than half a million dollars annually.
Following in second place is Michael De Santa, whose house costs $24,642 a month. The gap between Michael and Tommy is $20,326, the largest between any two consecutive protagonists on the list, and while Michael has just one home, it costs more each month than the entire portfolio of every other protagonist in the ranking except Tommy.
Carl Johnson is third, with his homes costing a combined $14,398 a month, across the Johnson House and Madd Dogg's Mansion. Carl sits $10,244 behind Michael, and the three protagonists at the top stand clearly apart from the rest of the ranking rather than running into it. Tommy, Michael and Carl all face monthly costs above $14,000, which no other protagonist in the ranking does.
Further down on the list, Franklin Clinton takes fourth place, with his homes costing a combined $11,439 a month, across his Forum Drive house and 3671 Whispymound Drive. Franklin sits $2,959 below Carl, and is the last protagonist in the ranking to own any of his homes. Every character from fifth place down rents or squats in every property counted.
The top five closes with Niko Bellic, whose homes cost a combined $5,659 a month, across his Hove Beach apartment, South Bohan safehouse and Middle Park East apartment. This is the clearest step down in the lower half of the ranking, sitting $5,780 below Franklin, and despite having more homes than anyone in the top four, Niko averages around $1,886 per home.
Claude follows in sixth position, with his homes costing a combined $5,350 a month, across safehouses in Portland, Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale. Claude and Niko are the only protagonists with three homes each, both in Liberty City, and land just $309 apart.
Lucia Caminos takes seventh place, the highest-ranked GTA VI protagonist, with her Bayside safehouse costing $3,595 a month. As the series returns to Vice City this November, Lucia's single home costs $41,373 less a month than Tommy Vercetti's, roughly one-twelfth of the first placed.
Jason Duval is eighth, with his Key Lento stilt house costing $3,326 a month, separated from Lucia by $269. Combined, the GTA VI duo's homes come to $6,921 a month, which, counted as one household, would still only place them fifth, between Franklin and Niko.
The ranking closes with Trevor Philips, whose homes cost a combined $3,307 a month, a difference of $41,661 from Tommy at the top of the list. Trevor has two homes, his trailer and a Vespucci Beach apartment, and still appears last, sitting just $19 behind Jason and $21,335 behind fellow GTA V protagonist Michael.
Across the ranking as a whole, the spread is wide at both ends. Combined monthly costs range from $3,307 to $44,968, a difference of $41,661, while set years range from 1986 to 2025, a gap of 39 years. The protagonists are grouped by what their homes would cost today, not by how many homes they have.
Chris Mawson, Founder of Power Up Gaming, commented on the findings: "What stands out is how far the series has swung from Tommy Vercetti's excess to the far more modest setups Lucia and Jason are working with, even though GTA VI takes players back to the same city.
"With the release just weeks away, it says a lot about where the story is heading. Tommy's Vice City was about building an empire, whereas Lucia and Jason are starting out with a safehouse and a stilt house, and it will be fascinating to see how far players can take them from there."