Article URL: https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2026/new-homeownership-measure-puts-people-first Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48991139 Points: 166 # Comme…

The homeownership rate in the United States is reported to be 65 percent. But this commonly cited data point on homeownership is actually the owner-occupancy rate, which tells us how many housing units are occupied by an owner. While owner occupancy is an interesting measure, it doesn’t tell us how many people own their home. As an alternative to better reflect the share of adults who are homeowners, we offer the homeowners-to-population ratio, or HPOP, a measure that lends a more nuanced view for important policy considerations and context. Using this new measure, the U.S. homeownership rate is 53 percent. To further its mission of pursuing a growing economy and stable financial system that work for all of us, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis works to understand economic conditions in the Ninth Federal Reserve District and beyond. Homeownership trends are a critical component of those conditions. Housing is both the largest expense and the largest source of wealth for many families. Using the HPOP helps us understand housing better in several ways. For example, the HPOP accounts for millions of American adults who would not be identified as either homeowners or renters under the traditional owner-occupancy measure. By including all adults, the HPOP gives us a more accurate understanding of the economic well-being of Americans. Measuring homeownership by the person instead of by the home is particularly important for comparing characteristics of homeowners: by age, by geography, and across time. To better understand the difference between the traditional owner-occupancy measure and the HPOP, consider a hypothetical cul-de-sac with five housing units, each of which is home to a separate group of residents: Housing unit 1. A couple owns their home. The woman’s parents live with them. Housing unit 2. A couple owns their home. Their son, a recent college graduate, lives with them. Housing unit 3. A man owns his home. A friend lives with him. Housing unit 4. A couple owns their home. Their two young children live with them. Housing unit 5. Three roommates rent their home. The owner lives elsewhere. As illustrated in Figure 1, these five housing units are home to 14 adults. Because four of these five housing units have their respective owners as residents, the owner-occupancy rate—the measure traditionally viewed as the homeownership rate—on the cul-de-sac is 80 percent. However, because only seven of the 14 adults are actually owners of the homes they live in, the HPOP is much lower, at 50 percent. To calculate the HPOP, we divide the total population of adult homeowners by the total adult population. For this analysis, we use data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS).1 To determine the total population of adults, we exclude anyone under age 18. To identify homeowners, we then look among the adults living in owner-occupied housing. The ACS tags the homeowner within such homes as the “reference person” (or “head”) for their household. We then also include any spouses or unmarried partners of the reference person as homeowners.2 Looking to learn more about the homeowners-to-population ratio (HPOP)? Visit our Homeowners-to-Population Data page to access our HPOP estimates for download. We provide estimates for the nation, all 50 states, and all metropolitan statistical areas for every year the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey has collected the underlying data (2006–2024). Estimates based on data disaggregated by age group, race and ethnicity, and marital status are also available. The HPOP categorizes adults who are not homeowners more precisely than the owner-occupancy rate. The largest group of non-homeowners, renters, is accounted for in both measures. However, calculations of the owner-occupancy rate leave out people who are living in group quarters—such as college dormitories, nursing homes, and correctional facilities. Our calculations of the HPOP include those groups and also account for discrepancies in the number of adults in renter households relative to homeowner households. For instance, if 50 out of 100 homes were rented by 50 adults living alone and the other 50 homes were owned and occupied by 100 adults living as married couples, then the owner-occupancy rate would be 50 percent but the HPOP would be 67 percent.