Homeownership statistics show how ownership varies across U.S. households, regions, ages, races and income groups. The latest Census estimate puts the national rate at 65.7% of occupied households in Q4 2024, while Freddie Mac research measures affordability and supply with separate estimates and samples.
Key Homeownership Statistics
The following figures summarize the most useful recent measures:
- In Q4 2024, 65.7% of occupied U.S. households were homeowners.
- In Q4 2024, the Midwest had a 71.1% homeownership rate.
- In Q4 2024, the South had a 67.0% homeownership rate.
- In Q4 2024, the West had a 61.1% homeownership rate.
- In Q4 2024, the Northeast had a 61.9% homeownership rate.
- In Q4 2024, householders aged 65 and over had a 79.5% homeownership rate in the United States.
- In Q4 2024, householders under age 35 had a 36.3% homeownership rate in the United States.
- In Q4 2024, householders aged 35 to 44 had a 61.4% homeownership rate in the United States.
- In Q4 2024, non-Hispanic White-alone householders had a 74.4% homeownership rate.
- In Q4 2024, Black-alone householders had a 46.4% homeownership rate.
- In Q4 2024, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander-alone householders had a 62.7% homeownership rate.
- In Q4 2024, households at or above median family income had a 78.1% homeownership rate.
- In Q4 2024, households below median family income had a 53.3% homeownership rate.
- In September 2024, the typical intended-home mortgage cost was about $600 per month above comparable single-family rent in Freddie Mac’s applicant-oriented estimate.
- In September 2024, the typical mortgage cost was 32% higher than comparable rent in that same Freddie Mac estimate.
- Through Q3 2024, Freddie Mac estimated a U.S. housing shortage of 3.7 million units relative to long-run demand.
Contents
- National homeownership rates and recent trends
- Regional homeownership data and vacancy rates
- Homeownership by age of householder
- Homeownership by race and ethnicity
- Homeownership by family income
- Affordability, supply and the owner-renter gap
National Homeownership Rates and Recent Trends
The Census Bureau’s CPS/HVS defines the homeownership rate as owner-occupied households divided by total occupied households. That denominator matters: rental and homeowner vacancy rates describe vacant inventory, not the share of households that own their homes.
The national quarterly pattern was relatively stable across the latest reported years:
| Period | U.S. homeownership rate | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2020 | 65.3% | CPS/HVS estimate |
| Q4 2021 | 65.4% | CPS/HVS estimate |
| Q4 2022 | 65.4% | CPS/HVS estimate |
| Q4 2023 | 65.7% | Quarterly estimate |
| Q4 2024 | 65.7% | Not seasonally adjusted |
Source: Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Fourth Quarter 2024.
Within 2024, the reported rate was 65.6% in Q1, 65.6% in Q2, 65.6% in Q3 and 65.7% in Q4. Census described Q4 2024 as virtually the same as Q4 2023, and the Q3 figure was not statistically different from Q4 2024.
Vacancy statistics provide additional market context but should not be substituted for ownership statistics. In Q4 2024, the rental vacancy rate was 6.9% of rental inventory, while the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% of homeowner inventory, up significantly from 0.9% in Q4 2023.
Regional Homeownership Data and Vacancy Rates
Regional figures show a substantial difference between the highest and lowest reported Census divisions. The Midwest rate exceeded the West rate by 10.0 percentage points and exceeded the Northeast rate by 9.2 percentage points; these are differences calculated from the published estimates, not separate Census estimates.
| Region | Homeownership rate, Q4 2024 | Rental vacancy rate, Q4 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest | 71.1% | 7.2% |
| South | 67.0% | 8.7% |
| Northeast | 61.9% | 4.2% |
| West | 61.1% | 5.9% |
Source: Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Fourth Quarter 2024.
The South had the highest rental vacancy rate at 8.7%, followed by the Midwest at 7.2%, the West at 5.9% and the Northeast at 4.2%. These rates measure vacant rental inventory and have a different denominator from the homeownership rate.
Census comparisons with Q4 2023 also differed by region: Midwest homeownership was higher, South homeownership was lower, and Northeast and West rates were not statistically different from their earlier values. A non-significant difference does not prove that the underlying population rates were identical.
By area type, the Q4 2024 homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% in principal cities, 1.0% in suburbs and 1.0% outside metropolitan statistical areas. These are area estimates for vacant-for-sale homeowner inventory, not ownership rates.
Homeownership Statistics by Age of Householder
Age is strongly associated with the reported homeownership rate. In Q4 2024, the rate for householders aged 65 and over was 79.5%, compared with 36.3% for householders under 35, a 43.2-percentage-point spread calculated from the published subgroup rates.
| Householder age | Homeownership rate | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | 36.3% | Q4 2024 |
| 35–44 | 61.4% | Q4 2024 |
| 65 and over | 79.5% | Q4 2024 |
Source: Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Fourth Quarter 2024.
The under-35 rate was 37.7% in Q1 2024, 37.4% in Q2, 37.0% in Q3 and 36.3% in Q4. For householders aged 35 to 44, the corresponding quarterly rates were 61.4%, 62.2%, 62.3% and 61.4%.
These quarterly movements should be read as survey estimates with margins of error and 90% confidence intervals. A small change between quarters is not automatically evidence of a meaningful change in the population rate.
Homeownership Statistics by Race and Ethnicity
Census race and ethnicity categories require careful interpretation. Hispanic origin is asked separately, respondents may report one or more races, and the displayed Q4 2024 categories include single-race reporting conventions.
| Census category | Homeownership rate, Q4 2024 |
|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White alone | 74.4% |
| Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander alone | 62.7% |
| Black alone | 46.4% |
Source: Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Fourth Quarter 2024.
The Q4 2024 non-Hispanic White-alone rate exceeded the Black-alone rate by 28.0 percentage points, based on the two published subgroup estimates. It exceeded the combined Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander-alone category by 11.7 percentage points.
Quarterly estimates also show the scale of short-term movement without establishing a long-term trend. The Black-alone rate was 45.7% in Q1 2024, 45.3% in Q2, 45.7% in Q3 and 46.4% in Q4, while the non-Hispanic White-alone rate was 74.0%, 74.4%, 74.2% and 74.4% across those quarters.
Homeownership Statistics by Family Income
Income is another major dividing line in the Census estimates. The CPS/HVS threshold is the median family income: households at or above that threshold are compared with households below it.
| Family-income group | Homeownership rate, Q4 2024 | Q4 2023 rate |
|---|---|---|
| At or above median family income | 78.1% | 78.4% |
| Below median family income | 53.3% | 53.0% |
Source: Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Fourth Quarter 2024.
The Q4 2024 gap between the two income groups was 24.8 percentage points. The below-median-income rate rose 0.3 percentage points from Q4 2023, while the above-median-income rate fell 0.3 points, but Census reports neither change as statistically different from the prior-year estimate.
The income figures are household survey measures, not a direct affordability test. They show different ownership rates by income position, but they do not identify mortgage approval, down-payment size, monthly payment burden or the cost of a particular home.
Homeownership Affordability, Supply and the Owner-Renter Gap
Freddie Mac’s affordability research uses model-based and transaction/application-sample estimates that are not directly interchangeable with Census homeownership rates. Its September 2024 analysis compared estimated mortgage costs with comparable single-family rents for intended homes.
For the typical applicant-oriented comparison, the intended-home mortgage cost was about $600 per month above comparable rent, or 32% higher, in September 2024. The estimate is conditional on loan approval and based on Freddie Mac’s intended-home and applicant sample, so it is not a national household average.
Freddie Mac also reported a 29% mortgage-over-rent percentage for September 2024 in a same-home exhibit. That construction differs from the typical-applicant summary and should remain separate from it; the historical same-home comparison reached 50% in 2006, while the separate applicant-oriented exhibit reported a 60% increase at the mid-2006 peak.
The mortgage-over-rent gap declined 14% from its late-2023 peak to September 2024, with Freddie Mac attributing part of the decline to lower mortgage rates. These are affordability comparisons, not ownership-rate measurements.
Source: The Decline in Relative Housing Affordability and the Impact on Homebuyer Search Behavior.
Housing availability is another constraint. Freddie Mac estimated the U.S. housing shortage at 3.7 million units through Q3 2024, relative to long-run housing demand, compared with a prior estimate of 3.8 million units at Q4 2020; the estimates use different data vintages and methods and are not Census inventory counts.
Source: Housing Supply: Still Undersupplied by Millions of Units.
Spending data also needs a precise label. The BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey cited by Freddie Mac reported that a typical U.S. consumer unit spent about $77,000 in 2023, but this is a consumer-unit measure rather than homeowner-only spending.
Source: Homeowner vs. Renter Spending in an Era of Rising Housing Costs.