Homeownership by Income

Definition

Ratio of the homeownership rate of households in the top income quintile to households in the bottom income quintile, 2011.

Calculated by dividing the higher value by the lower value, i.e., the homeownership rate of top income quintile households divided by bottom income quintile households. Income quintiles are calculated at the state level, and the income thresholds used to define quintiles can be found here.

A ratio of 1 indicates perfect equality; the higher the ratio, the greater the inequality. For example, the homeownership rate for households in the top income quintile in Rhode Island is 3.2 times higher than for households in the bottom income quintile. 

Description

Homeownership is the primary means of building wealth for most Americans, and studies have noted the particular importance of home equity as source of wealth accumulation for low-income households. This measure describes the disparity in homeownership rates between rich and poor households, and in every state, low-income families have significantly lower rates of homeownership. For example, in the District of Columbia, households in the top income quintile are four times more likely to be homeowners than households in the bottom quintile (73.9% to 15.3%, respectively).

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Homeownership by Income

State	Homeownership Rate, Top Quintile (%)	Homeownership Rate, Bottom Quintile (%)	Ratio	Rank
United States	86.9%	38.7%	2.25
Alabama	90.6%	46.2%	1.96	8
Alaska	86.7%	39.5%	2.19	21
Arizona	85.2%	42.8%	1.99	10
Arkansas	88.0%	41.6%	2.12	13
California	80.8%	30.6%	2.64	44
Colorado	88.6%	36.8%	2.41	37
Connecticut	92.1%	34.2%	2.70	46
Delaware	88.1%	46.8%	1.88	3
District of Columbia	73.9%	15.3%	4.83	51
Florida	86.9%	47.5%	1.83	1
Georgia	89.4%	38.4%	2.33	33
Hawaii	81.8%	30.0%	2.73	47
Idaho	88.6%	41.0%	2.16	18
Illinois	90.9%	38.6%	2.35	35
Indiana	93.5%	39.9%	2.35	34
Iowa	93.8%	41.3%	2.27	31
Kansas	91.6%	40.7%	2.25	29
Kentucky	92.6%	40.9%	2.27	30
Louisiana	89.8%	40.7%	2.21	23
Maine	91.6%	42.6%	2.15	17
Maryland	90.4%	40.8%	2.22	26
Massachusetts	88.4%	30.5%	2.90	48
Michigan	92.9%	42.3%	2.20	22
Minnesota	94.4%	42.0%	2.24	28
Mississippi	89.3%	47.3%	1.89	4
Missouri	91.3%	40.0%	2.28	32
Montana	90.0%	44.3%	2.03	12
Nebraska	93.2%	42.1%	2.22	24
Nevada	79.9%	33.6%	2.38	36
New Hampshire	95.2%	44.4%	2.14	16
New Jersey	89.5%	36.2%	2.47	42
New Mexico	89.8%	45.2%	1.99	9
New York	78.2%	24.2%	3.23	50
North Carolina	89.9%	42.1%	2.14	15
North Dakota	91.4%	37.3%	2.45	40
Ohio	92.2%	34.9%	2.64	45
Oklahoma	91.3%	41.2%	2.22	25
Oregon	87.6%	33.5%	2.61	43
Pennsylvania	91.5%	41.1%	2.23	27
Rhode Island	89.0%	27.8%	3.21	49
South Carolina	90.5%	45.4%	1.99	11
South Dakota	90.1%	42.3%	2.13	14
Tennessee	90.5%	41.6%	2.17	19
Texas	87.1%	39.8%	2.19	20
Utah	91.3%	37.4%	2.44	39
Vermont	92.4%	48.4%	1.91	6
Virginia	87.9%	44.9%	1.96	7
Washington	86.5%	35.6%	2.43	38
West Virginia	88.1%	46.2%	1.91	5
Wisconsin	92.7%	37.8%	2.45	41
Wyoming	89.5%	47.7%	1.88	2

Source

2011 American Community Survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 2012.