Homeownership Rate by Age and Region: October 2026
Last updated . All data pieces · Methodology
People usually look up the homeownership rate by age when they are deciding whether to keep renting, comparing themselves with peers, or trying to judge how hard it is for younger households to buy. The answer moves a lot with the age of the householder, and it also differs by region, since home prices, housing stock and local job markets vary across the country. A single national rate blends retirees who bought decades ago with first-time buyers, so it says little about any one age group or part of the country.
The U.S. homeownership rate was 65.5% in the third quarter of 2026, according to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS). The Census Bureau reports that this was not statistically different from the third quarter of 2025 or the second quarter of 2026. The rate is the share of occupied housing units, or households, that are owner-occupied; for an age group or region it is owner households in that group divided by all households in that group. The rates are not seasonally adjusted, so every comparison in this report uses the same quarter of each year.
We compiled six Census Bureau sources: the third quarter 2026 CPS/HVS press release, Historical Tables 14 and 19, the historical tables index, the survey's definitions, and a Census Bureau working paper on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the survey in 2020 and 2021. Data run from the third quarter of 1994 through the third quarter of 2026 and were released on October 28, 2026. Statements about statistical significance are the Census Bureau's own; we did not run additional tests.
Homeownership Rate by Age of Householder: Third Quarter 2026
This table answers the keyword directly with the homeownership rate for each age group in the latest quarter, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
| Age of householder | Third quarter 2026 (%) | Margin of error, 2026 (±) | Third quarter 2025 (%) | Margin of error, 2025 (±) | Statistically different from third quarter 2025? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 65.5 | 0.5 | 65.3 | 0.5 | No |
| Under 35 years | 36.6 | 0.7 | 37.5 | 0.7 | No |
| 35 to 44 years | 60.1 | 0.7 | 61.1 | 0.7 | Yes, lower |
| 45 to 54 years | 70.4 | 0.7 | 70.0 | 0.7 | No |
| 55 to 64 years | 75.4 | 0.7 | 76.0 | 0.7 | No |
| 65 years and over | 79.1 | 0.5 | 77.9 | 0.5 | Yes, higher |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Third Quarter 2026, Table 6 (Release Number CB26-161, October 28, 2026). Rates are not seasonally adjusted. Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level. The last column reports the Census Bureau's own comparison of third quarter 2026 with third quarter 2025.
Ownership rises with each older age group, and the Census Bureau reports that householders 65 and over had the highest rate and those under 35 the lowest. Of the year-over-year changes, only two were statistically significant, an increase for householders 65 and over and a decrease for those 35 to 44. Readers looking at the age of buyers, as opposed to the age of all owners, can compare these rates with our data on the average age of first-time home buyers.
Homeownership Rate by Region: Third Quarter 2026
This table shows how the homeownership rate differs across the four Census regions in the latest quarter and the same quarter of 2025.
| Region | Third quarter 2026 (%) | Margin of error, 2026 (±) | Third quarter 2025 (%) | Margin of error, 2025 (±) | Statistically different from third quarter 2025? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 65.5 | 0.5 | 65.3 | 0.5 | No |
| Northeast | 62.9 | 0.7 | 62.5 | 0.7 | No |
| Midwest | 69.5 | 0.6 | 68.9 | 0.6 | No |
| South | 67.2 | 0.5 | 67.2 | 0.5 | No |
| West | 60.6 | 0.6 | 60.7 | 0.7 | No |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Third Quarter 2026, Table 5 (Release Number CB26-161, October 28, 2026). Rates are not seasonally adjusted. Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level. The last column reports the Census Bureau's own comparison of third quarter 2026 with third quarter 2025. Regions follow Census Bureau definitions; the South includes the District of Columbia.
The Census Bureau ranks the Midwest highest and the West lowest this quarter, and it found no statistically significant change from a year earlier in any region. Lower ownership in a region means more households renting, and our average rent in the US data shows what those renters pay by state.
U.S. Homeownership Rate Over Time: 1994 to 2026
This table and chart track the national rate in the third quarter of each year since 1994, the first year of the age-group series, so each point compares the same season.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey, Historical Table 14, October 28, 2026. Rates are not seasonally adjusted. The 2020 estimate was affected by pandemic-related changes to data collection. Axis starts at zero; values as shown in the table below the chart.
| Third quarter of year | Homeownership rate (%) |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 64.1 |
| 1995 | 65.0 |
| 1996 | 65.6 |
| 1997 | 66.0 |
| 1998 | 66.8 |
| 1999 | 67.0 |
| 2000 | 67.7 |
| 2001 | 68.1 |
| 2002 | 68.0 |
| 2003 | 68.4 |
| 2004 | 69.0 |
| 2005 | 68.8 |
| 2006 | 69.0 |
| 2007 | 68.2 |
| 2008 | 67.9 |
| 2009 | 67.6 |
| 2010 | 66.9 |
| 2011 | 66.3 |
| 2012 | 65.5 |
| 2013 | 65.3 |
| 2014 | 64.4 |
| 2015 | 63.7 |
| 2016 | 63.5 |
| 2017 | 63.9 |
| 2018 | 64.4 |
| 2019 | 64.8 |
| 2020 | 67.4 |
| 2021 | 65.4 |
| 2022 | 66.0 |
| 2023 | 66.0 |
| 2024 | 65.6 |
| 2025 | 65.3 |
| 2026 | 65.5 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, CPS/HVS Historical Table 14, Quarterly Homeownership Rates for the U.S. and Regions: 1964 to Present (updated October 28, 2026). Rates are not seasonally adjusted. Historical Table 14 marks 2002 as revised based on the 2000 Census. The Census Bureau notes that homeownership data from 2020 were affected by data collection changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rate climbed through the late 1990s and early 2000s, fell after the mid-2000s to its lowest third-quarter reading of this period in 2016, and has since moved within a narrower range. The 2020 jump needs care: a Census Bureau working paper found that changes in nonresponse after in-person interviews were suspended likely contributed to elevated homeownership estimates for the second and third quarters of 2020.
Homeownership Rate by Age Over Time: 1996 to 2026
This table shows the third-quarter rate for each age group at 10-year intervals, which separates long-run shifts by age from the year-to-year changes above.
| Age of householder | Third quarter 1996 (%) | Third quarter 2006 (%) | Third quarter 2016 (%) | Third quarter 2026 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 65.6 | 69.0 | 63.5 | 65.5 |
| Under 35 years | 39.0 | 43.0 | 35.2 | 36.6 |
| 35 to 44 years | 66.3 | 68.8 | 58.4 | 60.1 |
| 45 to 54 years | 75.9 | 76.4 | 69.1 | 70.4 |
| 55 to 64 years | 79.7 | 80.7 | 74.9 | 75.4 |
| 65 years and over | 78.6 | 81.5 | 79.0 | 79.1 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, CPS/HVS Historical Table 19, Homeownership Rates by Age of Householder: 1994 to Present (updated October 28, 2026). Rates are not seasonally adjusted. The Census Bureau does not publish margins of error in this historical table, and we did not test these differences for statistical significance.
Every age group had a lower estimate in 2026 than in 2006, and the gap was smallest for householders 65 and over. Without published margins of error for the earlier years, these estimates show the direction of change but not whether each gap is statistically significant.
What Homeownership Rate Data Means for Buyers and Renters
The national rate has stayed in a narrow band in recent years while the age groups have moved in different directions, so the age and region tables are a better guide to any one household's situation than the headline figure. The fourth quarter 2026 release will show whether the changes the Census Bureau found for the 35 to 44 and 65-and-over groups hold.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau. "Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Third Quarter 2026" (Release Number CB26-161). October 28, 2026. https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/currenthvspress.pdf
- U.S. Census Bureau. "Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey, Historical Table 14: Quarterly Homeownership Rates for the U.S. and Regions: 1964 to Present." October 28, 2026. https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/data/histtab14.xlsx
- U.S. Census Bureau. "Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey, Historical Table 19: Quarterly Homeownership Rates by Age of Householder: 1994 to Present." October 28, 2026. https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/data/histtab19.xlsx
- U.S. Census Bureau. "Housing Vacancies and Homeownership (CPS/HVS): Historical Tables." Accessed October 30, 2026. https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/data/histtabs.html
- U.S. Census Bureau. "Housing Vacancies and Homeownership: Definitions and Explanations." Accessed October 30, 2026. https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/definitions.pdf
- U.S. Census Bureau. "Is it Over Yet? Assessing the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Housing Vacancy Survey Estimates for 2020 and 2021" (SEHSD Working Paper 2022-11). April 21, 2022. https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2022/demo/SEHSD-WP2022-11.html
Figures are shown as published by the sources named under each table. How we source and correct: editorial and corrections policy. Spotted an error? Contact us.
Release dates for these sources: Data release calendar.