Minneapolis Fed Puts True U.S. Homeownership at 53%, Exposing 22% Rate for Under-35s
Updated
Updated · Fortune · Jul 22
Minneapolis Fed Puts True U.S. Homeownership at 53%, Exposing 22% Rate for Under-35s
3 articles · Updated · Fortune · Jul 22
Summary
53% of U.S. adults owned homes under the Minneapolis Fed’s new homeowners-to-population ratio in 2024, far below the standard 65% owner-occupancy measure and exposing a much weaker picture for younger adults.
22% of under-35 adults were homeowners by HPOP, versus the traditional 37% household-head rate, because the older metric counts owner-occupied units rather than all adults living in them.
13.9% of U.S. adults live in owner-occupied homes without owning them, including 9% living as the owner’s child; the gap is widest in high-cost states such as California and Hawaii, where co-residency is more common.
14% of 25-year-olds owned homes in 2024, up from a 12% low in 2015 but still below 20% in 2006, suggesting homeownership is arriving later rather than rebounding to pre-crisis norms.
Older millennials are benefiting most: their cohort has become the highest-earning homebuyer segment at $132,700 median household income, while about $2.5 trillion of millennials’ post-2019 wealth gains came from home-price appreciation among existing owners.
Is the housing market creating a permanent wealth divide between older and younger millennials?
Is the rise of multigenerational living a temporary crisis response or a permanent shift in the American family structure?
Rethinking Homeownership in America: What the Minneapolis Fed’s HPOP Measure Reveals About Wealth, Generational Divides, and the Future of the American Dream
Overview
The report highlights how the traditional U.S. homeownership rate of 65 percent is based on the owner-occupancy rate, which measures housing units occupied by owners but does not reflect how many individual adults actually own homes. To address this, the Minneapolis Fed introduced the Homeowners-to-Population Ratio (HPOP), offering a more accurate, people-focused measure. HPOP reveals that only 53 percent of adults are homeowners, exposing a significant gap in previous understanding. This new perspective is crucial for shaping better housing policies and provides a clearer picture of homeownership trends and challenges across the nation.