Homeownership in the United States
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The homeownership rate in the United States in 2005 remained among the highest in the world with 68.9% of all occupied housing units being occupied by the unit's owner. Additionally homeownership rates vary depending on demographic characteristics of households such as ethnicity, race, type of household as well as location and type of settlement. Since 1960 the homeownership rate in the United States has remained relatively stable having increased 10.9% since 1960 when 62.1% of American households owned their own home. Homeownership was most common in rural areas and suburbs with three quarters of suburban households being homeowners. Among the country's regions the mid-western states had the highest homeownership rate with the Western states having the lowest.[1] Homeowners in the United States are also had higher incomes and household residing in their own home were more likely to be families than were their tenant counterparts.[2] Among racial demographics, European Americans had the countries highest homeownership rate, while those identifying as being Hispanic or Latino had the lowest homeownership rate.[3] Overall the vast majority of American households resided in their own home with the homeownership rate varying with race, household structure, income, and location.[3][1]
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[edit] Race
Homeownership rate, as well as the fluctuations within it, varied significantly with race.[3] While homeowners constitutes the majority of White, Asian and Native American households, the homeownership rate for African Americans and those idenifing as Hispanic or Latino fell short of the fifty percent threshold. Whites had the highest homeownership rate, followed by Asians and Native Americans. As of 2005, African Americans had once again the lowest homeownership rate in the country. Hispanics had the lowest homeownership rate in the country in ten out of twelve years between 1993 and 2005. Only in 2002 and 2005 did the homeownership rate for Hispanics exceed that of African Americans. Chronicle fluctuations were slight however for all races, commonly not changing more than two percentage points per year. The strongest fluctuation in the percentage of homeowners was among non-White minorities. The homeownership for minorities approached the sixty percent mark in 2005. A significant achievement as less than half of all minority households owned homes as recently as 1994. The ownership rate for minorities increased by 24.1%, from 47.7% in 1993 to 59.2% in 2005. The increase among White Americans was less subtantial. In 2005, 75.8% of White Americans owned their owned homes, compared to 70% in 1993. Thus one can conclude that despite a large remaining discrepancy between the homeownership rates among different racial groups, the gap is closing with ownership rates increasing more substantially for minorities than for Whites.[3]
| Race | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | % change since '94 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 70.0 | 70.9 | 71.7 | 72.0 | 72.6 | 73.2 | 73.8 | 74.3 | 74.5 | 75.4 | 76.0 | 75.8 | +8.28% |
| Asian American | 51.3 | 50.8 | 50.8 | 52.8 | 52.6 | 53.1 | 52.8 | 53.9 | 54.7 | 56.3 | 59.8 | 60.1 | +17.15% |
| Native American | 51.7 | 55.8 | 51.6 | 51.7 | 54.3 | 56.1 | 56.2 | 55.4 | 54.6 | 54.3 | 55.6 | 58.2 | +12.57% |
| African American | 42.3 | 42.7 | 44.1 | 44.8 | 45.6 | 46.3 | 47.2 | 47.7 | 47.3 | 48.1 | 49.1 | 48.2 | +13.59% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 41.2 | 42.1 | 42.8 | 43.3 | 44.7 | 45.5 | 46.3 | 47.3 | 48.2 | 46.7 | 48.1 | 49.5 | 20.14% |
SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2005[3]
[edit] Type of household
There is a strong correlation between a household's family structure, type as well as the age of and homeownership.[4] Overall married couple families, which also have the highest median income of any household type, were most likely to own a home, while female singles, who had the lowest median income of any household type were least likely to own a home. Age played a significant role as well with homeownership increasing with the age of the householder until age when 65, when a slight decrease becomes visible. While only 43% of households with a household under the age of thirty-five owned a home, 81.6% of those with a householder between the ages of 55 and 64 did. This means that households with a middle-aged householder were nearly twice as likely to own a home as those with a young householder. Overall married couple families with a householder age 70 to 74 had the highest homeownership rate with 93.3% being homeowners. The lowest homeownership rate was recorded for single females under the age of twenty-five of whom only 13.6%, were homeowners. Yet, single females had an overall higher homeownership rate than single males and single mothers.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b US Census Bureau, Homeownership in the United States, 1960-2004. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
- ^ US Census Bureau, distribution of homeowners among the income quitniles. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g US Census Bureau, homeownership by race. Retrieved on 2006-10-06.
- ^ a b c US Census Bureau, homeownership according to age and type of household. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
[edit] See also
Arts and entertainment • Culture • Economy • Crime • Education • Educational attainment • Geography • Health care • Holidays • Household income • Homeownership • Human rights • Labor unions • Languages • Middle class • Passenger vehicle transport • Personal income • Politics • Poverty • Racism • Religion • Social issues • Social structure • Sports • Standard of living
| Demographics of the United States |  |
|---|---|
| Demographics of the United States • Demographic history Economic - Social Educational attainment • Household income • Homeownership • Immigration • Income quintiles • Language • Middle classes • Personal income • Poverty • Religion • Social structure • Unemployment by state • Wealth |
- Household income in the United States
- Real estate pricing
- Economy of the United States
- Poverty in the United States
- Income quintiles
