Homeownership is all over the map — see the state at No. 1
After a brief COVID bounce, the share of people who own their homes has settled in around 65%, a recent report found. But it can vary widely by state and city.
Key points:
- Maine was the state with the highest homeownership rate at 74.4%; New York the lowest with 54.1%.
- High-ownership states (like Michigan, 73.7%) do not necessarily have the highest-ownership cities (Detroit, 53.8%).
- Connecticut saw the highest rate of domestic migration into the state at 1.58%. South Carolina and Delaware were also popular choices.
A recent analysis of home prices, ownership rates and migration in 2024 found that homeownership has remained relatively stable over the past few years, even as affordability has worsened. There are wide regional variances, however, as well as big differences within individual states.
A look at homeownership rates over time
The report, based on U.S. Census data compiled by real estate data company Property Shark, showed that the homeownership rate peaked at just over 69% in 2004, remaining high until the end of 2006. In the lead-up to the Great Financial Crisis, the rate began to fall, and that trend continued for 10 years; by 2016, homeownership reached a low of 62.9% — a level not seen since the 1960s.
Excluding a dramatic peak at the beginning of the pandemic, homeownership rates have improved, settling in the 65% to 66% range since the end of 2020. Although the rate dropped between Q3 2023 and Q2 2024, it was only by 0.8% nationally.
Where homeownership is highest and lowest
Among U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Maine had the highest rate of homeownership in 2024 at 74.4%. Rounding out the top five were Michigan, Delaware, West Virginia and Vermont, all with rates above 73%. There was no obvious geographic pattern — parts of the Mountain West had high levels of homeownership, but Colorado was a notable exception. The Midwest and South each had a fairly evenly split of states with high and mid-range rates of ownership.
At the other end of the spectrum, D.C. had the lowest rate of homeownership (39.1%), followed by New York (54.1%), California (55.9%), Nevada (60.4%), Massachusetts (62.3%) and Hawaii (62.4%). While all six of those states and districts have above-median home prices, Hawaii's ownership rate is significantly higher than New York's — even though homes in the Aloha State are more than twice as expensive, with a median price of $846,400 vs. $420,200 in New York.
Standout cities
Do high-ownership states contain high-ownership cities? Not necessarily. For example, the 10 cities with the highest homeownership rates — ranging from 84.9% in Port St. Lucie, Florida, to 64.5% in Laredo, Texas — were located in Florida, Virginia, Arizona, Nevada and Texas. None of those states were even among the top 20 in terms of ownership rates.
Michigan, meanwhile, had the second-highest homeownership rate among states (73.7%), but its largest city — Detroit — had a rate of just 53.8%.
The three cities with the lowest homeownership rates were clustered in the New York metro area: Newark (24.6%), Jersey City (27.6%) and New York City (32.5%). They were followed by the pricey coastal metros of Miami, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco. But also in the bottom 10 were Cincinnati, Ohio, and Irving, Texas — cities with a relatively low cost of living and low housing prices.
Low rents don't seem to be driving down homeownership either. West Virginia, for example, has one of the highest homeownership rates, but the lowest median rent in the Continental U.S. Other low-rent areas include Mississippi, the Dakotas and Kentucky, all with homeownership rates above 63.7%, and most approaching 70%.
However, the dataset does not include other factors that can influence homeownership, such as taxes, homeowners insurance, employment opportunities, price-to-income ratios or unemployment rates.
Domestic migration in 2024
Along with homeownership, Property Shark looked at interstate migration, which can paint a picture of how demand may be changing across the country.
In 2024, Connecticut saw the highest percentage of net in-migration, accounting for a 1.58% increase in the state's population. Other popular destinations for relocation included South Carolina, Delaware, Florida and Arizona, which each experienced at least 1% growth from migration.
The states people were most eager to leave included New York, with the highest rate of out-migration at 1.25%, followed by Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois and California. While four of those states have above-median home prices, the median sales price of homes in Illinois was just $263,000 in 2024, well below the national average.