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 figures come 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 owner costs from 2023 to 2024 was 3.8%, higher than the previous year’s rise of 3.0%. This change was mainly due to increases in mortgage and insurance expenses.
Homeowners with mortgages faced the highest median monthly costs in California ($3,001), Hawaii ($2,937), New Jersey ($2,797), Massachusetts ($2,755), and the District of Columbia ($3,181).
About 59.7% of owned homes had a monthly mortgage payment in 2024. The number of homes owned free and clear—without a mortgage—also grew by about 900,000 over the year to reach approximately 35 million nationwide.
Vermont (8.9%) and New Mexico (8.7%) saw two of the largest increases in homes owned free and clear between 2023 and 2024.
Some owners also pay homeowners’ association (HOA) or condo fees. In total, around 21.6 million out of roughly 86.6 million owned U.S. households paid either an HOA or condo fee in 2024. The national median monthly fee was $135; those with mortgages paid a median of $120 per month while those without mortgages paid $184.
The share of households paying these fees varied by state: Nevada (51%), Florida (44%), and Arizona (45%) had the highest proportions reporting HOA or condo payments; Rhode Island (10%), South Dakota (10%), Wisconsin (10%), Maine (8%), and North Dakota (8%) had among the lowest shares.
Further details about HOA and condo fees 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-of-homeowners-paid-condo-or-hoa-fees-in-2024.html
Renter costs also climbed during this period. Median gross rent—which includes rent plus utilities—increased by 2.7% from $1,448 in 2023 to $1,487 in 2024 after inflation adjustment. Despite this rise, renters continued to spend a median of about 31% of their income on housing.
Delaware, Mississippi, Idaho, Vermont and Alabama experienced some of the largest percentage-point increases—at least 6.5%—in median gross rent compared to other states.
More information about renter costs is available through the Housing Costs: 2024 infographic: https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/housing-costs-acs.html
On income trends across states, median household income rose in twenty-nine states between 2023 and 2024 after accounting for inflation; no significant changes were seen in twenty-one states plus D.C., while Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland recorded the highest incomes among all states—not statistically different from each other—and D.C.’s figure stood at $109,707 as the nation’s highest.
Income inequality as measured by the Gini index increased only in North Carolina but decreased across nine other states including Georgia and Iowa during this period.
Poverty rates fell between years for thirteen states and Puerto Rico but rose only in North Dakota and D.C.; elsewhere there were no significant changes noted.
Among major metropolitan areas tracked by ACS data between years: Atlanta’s poverty rate dropped from 11% to 10%, Riverside-San Bernardino fell from 12.1% to 11%, and Tampa declined from12% to11%.
Health insurance coverage changed as well: uninsured rates went up in eighteen states plus D.C., while just two states saw declines; among working-age adults ages nineteen through sixty-four similar trends were observed—with seventeen states plus D.C reporting higher uninsured rates—and among children under nineteen years old uninsured rates increased across nineteen states but decreased only once elsewhere.
Comprehensive statistics are available at data.census.gov: https://data.census.gov/
Additional context on these estimates can be found via user notes or blog posts such as Understanding the 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2025/09/understanding-the-2024-american-community-survey-1-year-estimates.html
The Census Bureau plans further releases including supplemental ACS statistics later this year.
