Percentage of Kids Living in Family-Owned Homes Rises — at Last
A decade after the U.S. housing market began to collapse — and nearly 10 years after the peak of the Great Recession — homeownership for families appears to be rebounding.
The percentage of U.S. children living in family-owned homes rose to 61% in 2017, after holding steady at 59% for the past four years.
While this is good news, kids are still less likely to live in family-owned homes compared to 2006 and 2007, when the housing bubble began to burst. At that time, 66% of children were growing up in homes that were owned (via a loan, such as a mortgage, or free and clear).
Movement at the state level reflects the national trend: From 2016 to 2017, the percentage of kids living in family-owned homes rose in all but 14 states. In 12 of these 14 states, the rate did not change. And in two states — New Hampshire (73% to 72%) and North Dakota (72% to 68%) — as well as in Puerto Rico (54% to 51%), homeownership grew less common for kids and their families.
Children in Iowa, Maine and Minnesota are most likely to live in a family-owned home — 74% do. By comparison, children in California (49%) and the District of Columbia (46%) are least likely to live in a family-owned home.
Despite its low homeownership rates, the District of Columbia saw the largest percentage-point jump (39% in 2016 to 46% in 2017) of any U.S. state or territory.
