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 (adjusted for inflation) in 2023. This information 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 monthly owner costs between 2023 and 2024 was 3.8%, higher than the previous year’s rise of 3.0%. The main contributors to this growth were higher mortgage and insurance expenses.
Homeowners in California ($3,001), Hawaii ($2,937), New Jersey ($2,797), Massachusetts ($2,755), and the District of Columbia ($3,181) had some of the highest median monthly costs among states and D.C.
In terms of mortgages paid off completely, about 900,000 more homes were owned free and clear in 2024 compared to the previous year—reaching roughly 35 million homes nationwide.
States like Vermont (8.9%) and New Mexico (8.7%) saw notable increases in homes owned without mortgages from 2023 to 2024.
Regarding homeowners’ association (HOA) or condo fees, approximately 21.6 million out of about 86.6 million owned U.S. households paid such fees in 2024. The overall median monthly fee was $135; those with a mortgage paid a median fee of $120 while those without paid $184.
Some states had larger shares of homeowners paying these fees: Nevada (51%), Florida (44%), and Arizona (45%) led the country by this measure. Rhode Island (10%), South Dakota (10%), Wisconsin (10%), Maine (8%), and North Dakota (8%) had among the lowest proportions paying HOA or condo fees.
For renters across the United States, median gross rent—including utilities—increased by about 2.7% from $1,448 in 2023 to $1,487 in 2024 according to ACS data. Despite this increase in rent prices, renters’ median share of income devoted to rent remained at about 31%.
Delaware, Mississippi, Idaho, Vermont and Alabama recorded some of the largest percentage-point jumps—at least six-and-a-half percent—in their state-level median gross rents over the past year.
Median household income went up in twenty-nine states after adjusting for inflation while twenty-one states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico showed no significant change compared to last year’s figures.
Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland topped state-level rankings for household income; D.C.’s figure was highest nationwide at $109,707 while Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia ranked lowest.
Income inequality rose as measured by the Gini index in North Carolina but fell across nine other states between surveys taken during these two years.
The poverty rate dropped significantly between last year and this year in thirteen states plus Puerto Rico but increased only in North Dakota and D.C.; it remained stable elsewhere.
Among large metropolitan areas—the Atlanta MSA saw its poverty rate fall from eleven percent down to ten percent; similar drops occurred around Riverside-San Bernardino as well as Tampa MSAs.
Health insurance coverage changed notably: eighteen states plus D.C experienced an uptick in uninsured rates overall since last year’s survey while only two states saw declines.
For adults aged nineteen through sixty-four there were increases across seventeen states plus D.C., but decreases seen just three places; among children under nineteen there were increases across nineteen states with only one state seeing improvement.
More detailed statistics are available through data.census.gov as well as additional explanatory resources released alongside today’s report.
Further releases from ACS—including supplemental estimates for one-year periods ending in late-2024—are expected over coming months.
