U.S. States · Highest to lowest
States ranked by homeownership rate
The share of housing units occupied by their owners is the standard measure of homeownership. The U.S. national rate sits around 65% per ACS5, but state-level variation is wide.
Top 5
West Virginia, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Mississippi top the ranking. A mix of older, slower-growth populations with cheap housing markets.
- #1 West Virginia74.3%
- #2 Maine74%
- #3 Michigan72.9%
- #4 Vermont72.8%
- #5 New Hampshire72.5%
Bottom 5
DC, California, New York, Nevada, and Hawaii sit at the bottom — expensive housing markets where renting dominates, plus DC where the urban form is rental-heavy.
- #51 District of Columbia41.1%
- #50 New York54.3%
- #49 California55.8%
- #48 Nevada59.3%
- #47 Texas62.6%
All 50 states
| # | State | Homeownership rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West VirginiaWV | 74.3% |
| 2 | MaineME | 74% |
| 3 | MichiganMI | 72.9% |
| 4 | VermontVT | 72.8% |
| 5 | New HampshireNH | 72.5% |
| 6 | IdahoID | 72.4% |
| 7 | MinnesotaMN | 72.4% |
| 8 | DelawareDE | 72.3% |
| 9 | WyomingWY | 71.9% |
| 10 | IowaIA | 71.5% |
| 11 | South CarolinaSC | 71.4% |
| 12 | UtahUT | 70.6% |
| 13 | IndianaIN | 70.4% |
| 14 | AlabamaAL | 69.9% |
| 15 | MississippiMS | 69.5% |
| 16 | MontanaMT | 69.4% |
| 17 | New MexicoNM | 69.3% |
| 18 | PennsylvaniaPA | 69.3% |
| 19 | South DakotaSD | 68.6% |
| 20 | KentuckyKY | 68.3% |
| 21 | MissouriMO | 67.9% |
| 22 | WisconsinWI | 67.9% |
| 23 | MarylandMD | 67.5% |
| 24 | FloridaFL | 67.3% |
| 25 | LouisianaLA | 67.3% |
| 26 | VirginiaVA | 67.2% |
| 27 | ArizonaAZ | 67% |
| 28 | OhioOH | 67% |
| 29 | TennesseeTN | 67% |
| 30 | KansasKS | 66.9% |
| 31 | IllinoisIL | 66.8% |
| 32 | AlaskaAK | 66.6% |
| 33 | NebraskaNE | 66.5% |
| 34 | North CarolinaNC | 66.4% |
| 35 | ColoradoCO | 66.3% |
| 36 | ConnecticutCT | 66.2% |
| 37 | ArkansasAR | 66.1% |
| 38 | OklahomaOK | 65.8% |
| 39 | GeorgiaGA | 65.4% |
| 40 | WashingtonWA | 63.9% |
| 41 | New JerseyNJ | 63.7% |
| 42 | North DakotaND | 63.4% |
| 43 | OregonOR | 63.4% |
| 44 | Rhode IslandRI | 63.3% |
| 45 | HawaiiHI | 62.6% |
| 46 | MassachusettsMA | 62.6% |
| 47 | TexasTX | 62.6% |
| 48 | NevadaNV | 59.3% |
| 49 | CaliforniaCA | 55.8% |
| 50 | New YorkNY | 54.3% |
| 51 | District of ColumbiaDC | 41.1% |
Methodology
- What this measures
- ACS5 Table B25003: tenure (owner-occupied vs. renter-occupied) of all occupied housing units. Reported as the percentage of occupied housing units that are owner-occupied.
- Why it matters
- Homeownership is correlated with household wealth-building, neighborhood stability, and political participation. Low-homeownership states tend to be either expensive coastal markets (California, New York) or younger, transient populations (DC, Nevada).
- Caveats
- Doesn't capture how that ownership is financed — high-mortgage states can rank similarly to states with lots of paid-off homes. Doesn't capture quality of housing.
- Source
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, vintage 2023 (released December 2024). census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Frequently asked
- Why is West Virginia the highest?
- Aging in place, cheap housing, and a low mortgage cost relative to income. The same pattern shows up in much of Appalachia and northern New England.