Median Age of Housing Stock by State Varies by More Than 35 Years

The median age of owner-occupied homes in the United States is 39 years, but this figure varies dramatically when broken down state-by-state.

On the farthest ends of the spectrum, New York has the oldest owner-occupied homes with a median age of 60 years while Nevada leads the newer owner-occupied housing stock at only 23 years. These figures are according to the latest data from the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS).

The age of the housing stock is an important remodeling market indicator. Older houses are less energy-efficient than new construction and ultimately will require remodeling and renovation in the future. Moreover, as people use their homes for more purposes and require additional space, older housing represents an investment opportunity for home owners.

While New York has the oldest owner-occupied homes, the Empire State is followed by Massachusetts (56) and Rhode Island (55). Half of all owner-occupied houses in the District of Columbia were built more than 79 years ago. However, D.C. is generally not a representative market, as it is a smaller urban area.

Newer owner-occupied housing stock is mostly concentrated in the Sun Belt states where 14 out of 15 states, with the exception of California (43), have median owner-occupied housing stock age below the national median (39 years). While Nevada posts the youngest age of owner-occupied homes at only 23 years, it is followed by Georgia and Arizona, where half of all owner-occupied homes were built in the last 27 years.

NAHB economist Na Zhao provides more details in this Eye on Housing blog post.