Home Sweet Home: Communities with the Most Homeowners

In 2020, Americans have spent more time at home than ever before. Which communities have the most residents with the fortune of owning those homes?

Never has it been nobler to cancel plans and stay at home than in 2020. According to estimates by the Urban Health Collaborative at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health, the shelter-in-place orders put into effect within just the 30 largest metro areas in the U.S. prevented over 200,000 deaths and over 2 million hospitalizations.

Even as shelter-in-place measures are easing, the ramifications of this pandemic are still imposing major hardships on many households. As jobless claims have passed 40 million, many Americans who cannot transition to remote work have had to eat into their savings to make ends meet. However, there are some financial protections uniquely benefitting homeowners during this outbreak. For example, since the passage of the CARES Act, mortgage holders with a forbearance plan will face no ramifications to their credit reports if they must temporarily reduce or halt payments.

Homeownership comes with a number of benefits. Owning one’s house is correlated with higher volunteering and civic engagement, improved health outcomes, lower crime, and better educational performance for children. With this in mind, the data science and research team at Insurify crunched the numbers to see which communities have the highest rates of homeownership in America.

Insights

• National average. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s (USCB) Housing Vacancy Survey, the rate of homeownership in the United States reached 65.3 percent in the first quarter of 2020. This is up from 64.2 percent at the same time last year, though the full effect of the current outbreak on homeownership is yet to be seen.

• Renters in the North. The country’s northernmost states have a conspicuous deficit of homeowners. The lower rates of homeownership along the Canadian border feeds well into the next finding.

• Clusters of retiree communities. Two notable states on the map, Arizona and Florida, have clusters of high-ownership communities that account for nearly half of the top 20 communities with the most homeowners. Arizona and Florida also happen to be states containing high concentrations of older and retired Americans. Given that nearly 80 percent of Americans aged 65+ own their homes — the highest homeownership rate of any age bracket in the U.S. according to the USCB — it may come as no surprise that communities that appeal to retirees and snowbirds have some of the highest rates of homeownership in America.

• Marriage and mortgages. Just as homeownership rates correlate with age, they also relate to marital status as homeownership is still largely enjoyed by spouses. 49.6 percent of adults are married across the country, and 17 of the top 20 cities for homeowners has a marriage rate higher than the national average.

Methodology

The data science and research team at Insurify, a site that lets users compare homeowners insurance rates, studied data from City-Data.com to determine the communities in each state with the highest percentage of residents living in homes that they own. Not all communities listed are cities — in fact, some are neighborhoods, standalone municipalities, regions, or even counties – but all have a population exceeding 100,000, focusing the analysis on communities that are mid-size or larger. Statistics on population and marital status were also sourced from City-Data.com.

Cities with the Most Homeowners in the United States

20. Sterling Heights, Michigan

• Share of homeowners: 72.1%

• Population: 131,224

• Share of married adults: 53.4%

19. Surprise, Arizona

• Share of homeowners: 72.5%

• Population: 123,546

• Share of married adults: 59.1%

18. Olathe, Kansas

• Share of homeowners: 72.6%

• Population: 131,885

• Share of married adults: 58.7%

17. Simi Valley, California

• Share of homeowners: 72.7%

• Population: 126,181

• Share of married adults: 49.9%

16. South Antelope Valley, California

• Share of homeowners: 73.0%

• Population: 171,490

• Share of married adults: 60.7%

15. Northwest Dade, Florida

• Share of homeowners: 73.4%

• Population: 113,920

• Share of married adults: 48.7%

14. Amherst, New York

• Share of homeowners: 73.7%

• Population: 122,366

• Share of married adults: 60.7%

13. Port St. Lucie, Florida

• Share of homeowners: 73.9%

• Population: 171,016

• Share of married adults: 52.4%

12. Gilbert, Arizona

• Share of homeowners: 73.9%

• Population: 229,972

• Share of married adults: 55.0%

11. Naperville, Illinois

• Share of homeowners: 74.2%

• Population: 144,864

• Share of married adults: 62.1%

10. West Jordan, Utah

• Share of homeowners: 74.6%

• Population: 110,077

• Share of married adults: 55.9%

9. Pembroke Pines, Florida

• Share of homeowners: 74.7%

• Population: 162,329

• Share of married adults: 48.9%

8. Palm Bay, Florida

• Share of homeowners: 75.4%

• Population: 104,898

• Share of married adults: 42.8%

7. Pearland, Texas

• Share of homeowners: 76.2%

• Population: 100,065

• Share of married adults: 62.8%

6. Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

• Share of homeowners: 76.2%

• Population: 103,500

• Share of married adults: 57.4%

5. North Hempstead, New York

• Share of homeowners: 76.7%

• Population: 226,322

• Share of married adults: 61.6%

4. North Pinal County, Arizona

• Share of homeowners: 77.8%

• Population: 100,105

• Share of married adults: 64.3%

3. Davis County, Utah

• Share of homeowners: 78.0%

• Population: 286,331

• Share of married adults: 64.1%

2. Northeast Cobb County, Georgia

• Share of homeowners: 78.2%

• Population: 169,756

• Share of married adults: 65.6%

1. Deer Valley, Arizona

• Share of homeowners: 85.9%

• Population: 186,030

• Share of married adults: 70.7%

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