The median monthly costs for U.S. homeowners with a mortgage rose to $2,035 in 2024, up from $1,960 (adjusted for inflation) in 2023, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS).
“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 owner costs from 2023 to 2024 was 3.8%, higher than the previous year’s rise of 3%. This growth was mainly attributed to rising mortgage and insurance expenses.
States with the highest median monthly owner costs for those with a mortgage included California ($3,001), Hawaii ($2,937), New Jersey ($2,797), Massachusetts ($2,755), and the District of Columbia ($3,181).
Data show that more than half of owned homes (59.7%) carried a monthly mortgage payment in 2024. The number of homes owned free and clear—without a mortgage—also increased by about 900,000 compared to the previous year.
Vermont (8.9%) and New Mexico (8.7%) saw some of the largest increases in homes owned outright between 2023 and 2024.
Homeowners’ association (HOA) or condo fees were paid by approximately 21.6 million households out of about 86.6 million total owner-occupied units nationwide in 2024. The national median HOA or condo fee stood at $135 per month but varied depending on whether households had a mortgage: those with mortgages paid a median fee of $120 while those without paid $184.
The proportion of homeowners paying HOA or condo fees differed widely by state; Nevada had the highest share at 51%, followed by Florida (44%) and Arizona (45%). Rhode Island (10%), South Dakota (10%), Wisconsin (10%), Maine (8%), and North Dakota (8%) reported among the lowest shares.
Renter costs also climbed during this period; ACS data show that national median gross rent—including utilities—increased by 2.7% from $1,448 in 2023 to $1,487 in 2024. Despite this rise in cost for renters, their median percentage of income spent on rent remained unchanged at 31%.
Delaware, Mississippi, Idaho, Vermont and Alabama experienced some of the largest percentage-point increases—at least six-and-a-half percent—in median gross rent over the year.
Median household income rose after adjusting for inflation in nearly thirty states between 2023 and 2024; twenty-one states along with D.C. and Puerto Rico showed no significant change. Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland reported the highest state-level incomes while Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia had the lowest figures recorded nationally.
Income inequality—as measured by the Gini index—rose only in North Carolina but fell across nine other states including Georgia and Ohio between surveys conducted one year apart.
Poverty rates dropped significantly in thirteen states plus Puerto Rico from last year’s survey period but rose only in North Dakota and D.C.; most other states saw little change according to statistical measures used by ACS analysts.
Three major metropolitan areas—Atlanta; Riverside-San Bernardino; Tampa—recorded significant declines in poverty rates between surveys taken one year apart.
Health insurance coverage shifted as well: uninsured rates went up across eighteen states plus D.C., while only two states registered decreases since last year’s report cycle. Among working-age adults aged nineteen through sixty-four years old there were increases noted for seventeen states plus D.C., whereas three saw decreases over twelve months tracked via ACS responses.
For children under nineteen years old uninsured rates increased across nineteen states while dropping only once elsewhere during this reporting period.
More detailed statistics are available through data.census.gov.
