The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the median monthly owner costs for homeowners with a mortgage increased to $2,035 in 2024, up from $1,960 in 2023 after adjusting for inflation. This data comes from the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates.
“One way we measure housing affordability is based on how much households spend on selected costs such as mortgage payments, insurance, taxes, utilities, and various fees,” said Jacob Fabina, a Census Bureau economist. “In 2024, the median percentage of income householders with a mortgage spent on these costs was 21.4%, which points to an increased burden on homeowners.”
The increase in median monthly owner costs between 2023 and 2024 was 3.8%, outpacing the previous year’s rise of 3.0%. The report attributes this growth mainly to higher mortgage and insurance expenses.
Homeowners with a mortgage in California ($3,001), Hawaii ($2,937), New Jersey ($2,797), Massachusetts ($2,755), and the District of Columbia ($3,181) faced the highest monthly costs nationwide.
About 59.7% of owned homes had a monthly mortgage payment in 2024. The number of homes owned free and clear rose by about 900,000 over the year to reach roughly 35 million nationwide.
Vermont (8.9%) and New Mexico (8.7%) saw two of the largest increases in homes owned free and clear between 2023 and 2024.
Approximately one quarter of U.S. homeowners paid either condominium or homeowners’ association (HOA) fees in 2024—about 21.6 million out of roughly 86.6 million owner-occupied households. The national median fee was $135 per month but varied depending on whether households had a mortgage: those with mortgages paid $120 per month while those without paid $184.
Nevada (51%), Florida (44%), and Arizona (45%) had some of the highest shares of homeowners paying condo or HOA fees; Rhode Island (10%), South Dakota (10%), Wisconsin (10%), Maine (8%), and North Dakota (8%) had among the lowest shares.
Renters also experienced higher costs as median gross rent—including utilities—increased by 2.7% from $1,448 in 2023 to $1,487 in 2024 according to ACS figures. However, renters’ median share of income going toward rent remained at 31%.
States such as Delaware, Mississippi, Idaho, Vermont and Alabama recorded some of the largest increases—at least six-and-a-half percent—in median gross rent during this period.
Median household income rose in twenty-nine states after inflation adjustment compared to last year; twenty-one states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico showed no significant change. Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland reported some of the highest state-level incomes while D.C.’s figure was highest nationally at $109,707; Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia posted the lowest incomes.
Income inequality as measured by the Gini index increased only in North Carolina but declined across nine other states including Georgia and Ohio from last year’s survey results.
Poverty rates fell in thirteen states plus Puerto Rico between 2023 and 2024 but rose only in North Dakota and D.C.; most other states saw no statistically significant change. State poverty rates ranged from just over seven percent to nearly nineteen percent this year.
Among major metropolitan areas tracked by ACS data https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/cost-of-homeownership.html , Atlanta’s poverty rate dropped from eleven percent to ten percent; Riverside-San Bernardino’s fell from twelve-point-one percent to eleven percent; Tampa’s decreased from twelve percent to eleven percent as well.
Regarding health coverage trends between last year’s survey period and now: eighteen states plus D.C. saw their uninsured rates climb while only two saw declines overall; among working-age adults aged nineteen through sixty-four years old similar patterns were observed—with increases noted across seventeen states plus D.C., decreases seen only three places; for children under age nineteen uninsured rates grew across nineteen states but fell just once elsewhere.
Additional details about housing cost distribution can be found via America Counts stories published alongside today’s release https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2025/09/nearly-quarter-of-homeowners-paid-condo-or-hoa-fees-in-2024.html . Further information regarding renter cost trends is available through newly released infographics https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/housing-costs.html .
Comprehensive statistics are accessible at data.census.gov for users seeking more granular insights into this latest set of findings.
