U.S. States Ranked By Gaps In Racial & Ethnic Homeownership

Polygon Research and Homeownership Council of America has released a new analysis showing the U.S. states with the largest and smallest homeownership gaps by race and ethnicity compared to the statewide homeownership rate.

Homeownership is the number one driver of wealth, and ensuring equal access to it remains crucial to economic stability, according to the homeownership council. Yet, the analysis shows there hasn’t been much progress within the past few decades, as the gap between white and Black homeownership is nearly the same today as it was in the 1970s when the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) were enacted. 

Similarly, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), enacted in 1977 to encourage banks to invest in low-income communities, also has not brought more parity to homeownership in race and ethnicity as previously hoped.

“The need to fill the gap is especially pressing in a time when home costs are rising and the supply is not keeping pace with the demand. Ensuring communities of color attain homeownership as soon as possible provides them with the most equity gain,” said Gabe del Rio, CEO and president of Homeownership Council of America. “We are prioritizing our work in Special Purpose Credit Programs based on this information. We want to share it widely with the industry so others can establish SPCP programs as well.”

Polygon Research used its product CensusVision, which compiles information from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 one-year American Community Survey (ACS). Polygon’s methodology compares race and ethnicity with the state’s overall homeownership rate at the household level. 

Following are the state rankings based on deviation from statewide homeownership, listed from the largest gaps to the smallest:

1. District of Columbia
2. Alaska
3. Maryland
4. Mississippi
5. Georgia
6. Louisiana 
7. South Carolina
8. Virginia
9. Alabama
10. California
11. Florida
12. Arkansas 
13. North Carolina 
14. Texas
15. New York
16. Delaware
17. Colorado
18. Tennessee
19. Connecticut
20. New Jersey
21. New Mexico
22. Rhode Island
23. Nevada
24. Pennsylvania 
25. Massachusetts 
26. Oregon
27. Illinois 
28. Oklahoma
29. Kentucky
30. Missouri
31. Michigan
32. Arizona
33. Kansas
34. Ohio
35. West Virginia
36. Indiana 
37. Washington
38. Idk
39. Nebraska
40. Vermont
41. Maine
42. Wisconsin 
43. Montana
44. South Dakota
45. Minnesota 
46. New Hampshire
47. Utah
48. Idaho
49. Iowa
50. North Dakota
51. Wyoming