The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the median monthly costs for homeowners with a mortgage increased to $2,035 in 2024, up from $1,960 (adjusted for inflation) in 2023, according to new data from the 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 rise in owner costs from 2023 to 2024 was 3.8%, surpassing the previous year’s increase of 3.0%. The report attributes this change mainly to 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) faced some of the highest monthly costs nationwide.
About 59.7% of owned homes carried a monthly mortgage payment in 2024. The number of homes owned free and clear rose by approximately 900,000 over the year—reaching about 35 million total compared with roughly 34.1 million in 2023. Vermont (8.9%) and New Mexico (8.7%) had among the largest increases in homes without mortgages.
Regarding additional housing expenses such as condo or homeowners’ association (HOA) fees: around 21.6 million owner-occupied households paid these fees out of roughly 86.6 million total owned homes nationwide in 2024. The overall median fee was $135 per month; those with mortgages paid a median fee of $120 while those without paid $184.
Geographically, Nevada had the highest share (51%) of owners paying HOA or condo fees; Florida (44%) and Arizona (45%) also had high rates but were not significantly different from each other statistically. In contrast, Rhode Island (10%), South Dakota (10%), Wisconsin (10%), Maine (8%), and North Dakota (8%) saw some of the lowest proportions.
More details about HOA and condo fee distribution can be found at Nearly a Quarter of Homeowners Paid Condo or HOA Fees in 2024 America Counts story: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2025/09/nearly-quarter-homeowners-paid-condo-or-hoa-fees-in-2024.html
Rental costs also rose during this period; median gross rent increased by about 2.7% between 2023 ($1,448 adjusted for inflation) and 2024 ($1,487). Despite higher rents overall—including utilities—the typical portion of income going toward rent held steady at about one-third.
States like Delaware, Mississippi, Idaho, Vermont and Alabama experienced some notable jumps—each seeing an increase above six percent—in their respective median gross rents.
Further information about renter costs is available via Housing Costs: 2024 infographic: https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/housing-costs-acs.html
In terms of income trends across states: after adjusting for inflation since last year’s survey period ended in mid-2023—29 states recorded gains in household income while another group including Puerto Rico showed no statistically significant change at all.
Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland ranked highest for state-level median household incomes; differences among them were not significant statistically speaking according to survey methodology guidelines; however D.C.’s figure topped all at $109,707 annually while Arkansas Louisiana Mississippi West Virginia trailed nationally.
The Gini index—a measure used by economists to track income inequality—increased only in North Carolina but decreased across nine states including Georgia Iowa Massachusetts Nebraska New Jersey Ohio Oregon South Dakota Wisconsin when comparing results from both years’ surveys.
On poverty rates: thirteen states plus Puerto Rico saw reductions between surveys taken for calendar years ending December each cycle; only North Dakota—and Washington D.C.—experienced increases during this interval; otherwise most places reported no significant changes within statistical margins tracked by ACS analysts over time intervals observed so far ranging regionally between just above seven percent up through nearly nineteen percent prevalence per local population segment measured under standard definitions used by Census field staff annually for reporting purposes
Among large metro areas Atlanta Riverside-San Bernardino Tampa posted declines greater than margin-of-error cutoffs set forth for statistical significance regarding local poverty rate shifts seen between years surveyed most recently available
Health coverage patterns changed as well—with uninsured rates rising across eighteen states plus D.C., dropping only slightly elsewhere among working-age adults ages nineteen through sixty-four years old surveyed under ACS protocols during latest annual collection cycles documented here
Full datasets are accessible via data.census.gov https://data.census.gov/
Additional explanations regarding estimates released today are provided online through user notes and recent blog entries such as Understanding the 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2025/09/understanding-the-acs-24-one-year-estimates.html
The Census Bureau plans further releases over coming months covering supplemental one-year estimates along with updated five-year summaries.
