Homeownership in the United States
A quick rundown on homeownership and rentals in the United States using graphs and statistics.
The time variance is mostly over the last 23 years. The first graph is from 1960 till 2023 and covers the economic issues, gains, or losses which was occurring during that time period. Renting will still take more from your income than homeownership. The study does identify rentals taking as high as 60% of income.
The great Recession from 2007 to 2016 did have an impact on Homeownership. Those who leaned heavily into debt to own may have had a struggle during the Great Recession.
“What is the homeownership rate in the United States?” USAFacts
About 65.9% in 2023. Or nearly 2 out of every 3 households owned their home while the remainder rented.
According to the Census Bureau, understanding homeownership rates can help determine if people’s needs are met by available housing and can inform policy and funding decisions.
US homeownership rates declined from the start of the Great Recession through 2016.
- The homeownership rate started at approximately 62% in 1960 and showed a gradual increase, reaching around 65% by 1980.
- From 1980 to 1995, the rate fluctuated slightly, remaining around 64-65%
- Between 1995 and 2004, there was a steady increase, peaking at about 69% in 2004.
- Post-2004, the rate declined, especially during the Great Recession (2007-2009), dropping to around 63% by 2016.
- From 2016 onwards, the rate showed a slight recovery, with a notable increase during the pandemic-impacted data collection period, reaching around 66% in 2020, and stabilizing around 65% by 2023.
During the housing bubble of the mid-2000s, homeownership rates rose to a peak of 69% in 2004. When the housing bubble popped in 2007 and the Great Recession started, foreclosures increased and there was a shift from owning to renting: the homeownership rate declined through 2016, when it bottomed out at 63.4%. It then began to increase. The homeownership rate in 2023 was up 1.5 percentage points from 2018.
Homeownership is least common in urban areas.
- Rural and suburban homeownership rates are consistently higher than urban rates throughout the period.
- Rural homeownership starts at 72.0% in 1994, peaks around 76.3% in 2004-2005, and ends at 74.1% in 2023.
- Suburban homeownership begins at 70.3% in 1994, peaks at 76.4% in 2005, and ends at 73.0% in 2023.
- Urban homeownership starts at 48.5% in 1994, peaks at 54.3% in 2006, and ends at 51.2% in 2023.
- Rural and suburban lines intersect around 2005-2006.
- Urban homeownership remains consistently lower than both rural and suburban rates.
In 2023, homeownership rates were highest in rural areas, at 74.1%; 73.0% of households owned their homes in suburban areas, and 51.2% of households in urban areas. Since their respective housing-bubble highs, homeownership rates have dropped 3.4 percentage points in suburban areas, 3.1 points in urban areas, and 2.2 points in rural areas.
The places defined as rural, suburban, or urban shift every 10 years or so as populations grow, fall, or move and how places more or less economically interconnected. This means changes in the rate may be the result of, for example, a county’s classification changing from rural to suburban as opposed to a real change in homeownership.
State-level homeownership rates also vary due to factors like population density, economic conditions, and population characteristics.
How many households in the United States spend too much on housing?
About 41.8 million in 2023. That’s 32.8% of all households. These households spent at least 30% of their total income on rent or mortgage payments and utilities. The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings.
The number of cost-burdened households increased from 38.9 million in 2013 to 41.8 million in 2023. Cost burden considers both household income and housing costs, so factors affecting either of these can influence the number of burdened households. For example:
- Changes in wages, employment status, or the number of people in a household can impact household income.
- Changes in housing supply/demand or interest rates can affect costs.
A growing or declining US population can also affect the number of cost-burdened households. To counteract this, USAFacts analyzed the percentages of cost-burdened households rather than just the number. This prevents such population changes from skewing the data.
In 2023, 32.8% of US households were cost burdened. This is down 1.8 percentage points from 2013.
The line chart displays the share of households spending at least 30% of their income on housing from 2005 to 2023, categorized into renter, owner, and all households. In 2005, 49.5% of renter households, 28.5% of owner households, and 35.1% of all households were cost-burdened. By 2023, these figures were 51.8% for renters, 23.3% for owners, and 32.8% for all households. The data shows that renter households consistently had a higher share of cost-burdened households compared to owner households throughout the period. The overall trend for all households shows a slight decrease over the years.
Cost burden varies for renters and homeowners. For example, during the Great Recession (2007–2009) unemployment rose, millions of homes entered foreclosure, and rental demand increased. By 2010, cost burden had increased among renters while staying flat among homeowner households. Since 2013, the proportion of cost-burdened owner households has decreased from 25.5% to 23.3% in 2023. Meanwhile, cost burden changed from 51.5% to 51.8% among renter households.
Cost burdens also vary nationwide. The share of renters who are cost-burdened ranged from 37.0% in North Dakota to 61.7% of all renter households in Florida in 2023.