Homeownership Statistics (2026)

The US homeownership rate was 65.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025, unchanged from a year earlier and just below the 25-year average of 66.3%. Homeownership is the single largest source of wealth for most American households.

Ownership rises sharply with age. The rate for households under 35 was 37.9%, up from a recent low of 36.3%, while the 35-to-44 group sat at 60.9%, still about nine points below its 2005 peak.

Older Americans own at far higher rates: ownership peaks near 79.5% for households aged 65 to 74, reflecting decades of paying down mortgages and rising home equity.

A wide and persistent gap runs along racial lines. In Q4 2025 the White homeownership rate was 75.1%, compared with 63.1% for Asian and Pacific Islander households, 48.7% for Hispanic households, and 44.2% for Black households, a gap of more than 30 percentage points between the highest and lowest groups.

Buying has become dramatically more expensive. The median price of a new single-family home is about $495,750, and home prices have risen roughly 50% since 2020. Nearly 21 million homeowners now spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

Down payments scale with age and accumulated wealth, rising from a median of 4.7% for buyers under 25 to 21.3% for buyers over 65, as older buyers roll equity from previous homes into new purchases.