The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the median monthly costs for homeowners with a mortgage rose to $2,035 in 2024, up from $1,960 in 2023 after adjusting for inflation. The new data comes from the American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates released today.
“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 monthly owner costs from 2023 to 2024 was 3.8%, higher than the previous year’s rise of 3.0%. Higher mortgage and insurance costs were the main factors behind this growth.
Homeowners with mortgages in California ($3,001), Hawaii ($2,937), New Jersey ($2,797), Massachusetts ($2,755), and the District of Columbia ($3,181) faced the highest median monthly expenses.
The share of owned homes with a mortgage stood at nearly 60% in 2024. The number of homes owned outright also grew by about 900,000 compared to last year; there were around 35 million homes paid off in full in 2024 versus about 34.1 million in 2023. Vermont and New Mexico had some of the largest increases in homes owned free and clear between those years.
Some owners pay additional condo or homeowners’ association (HOA) fees. In total, roughly 21.6 million out of approximately 86.6 million owned U.S. households paid either condo or HOA fees during the year. The overall median fee was $135 per month but varied: those with mortgages paid a median of $120 while those without paid $184 monthly.
The prevalence of these fees differed by state: Nevada (51%), Florida (44%), and Arizona (45%) had among 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 some of the lowest shares.
Rental costs also climbed over the past year. Median gross rent increased by 2.7% to $1,487 in 2024 from $1,448 in inflation-adjusted dollars for 2023. Despite higher rents, renters’ share of income spent on housing remained at a median of 31%. Delaware, Mississippi, Idaho, Vermont and Alabama saw some of the largest percentage-point increases—of at least 6.5%—in median gross rent.
Household incomes showed gains as well: Median household income went up in twenty-nine states after adjusting for inflation; no significant changes were observed in twenty-one states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico. Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland reported the highest state-level incomes while D.C.’s median household income led nationally at $109,707.
Income inequality increased according to the Gini index in North Carolina but decreased across nine other states including Georgia and Ohio between survey years.
Poverty rates fell in thirteen states and Puerto Rico but rose only in North Dakota and D.C.; they did not change significantly elsewhere.
Health insurance coverage saw setbacks: Uninsured rates rose across eighteen states plus D.C., affecting both working-age adults and children more widely than before.
More detailed statistics can be accessed through data.census.gov.
