FRU News · News Brief
How many U.S. homes are owned free and clear
About 40.3 percent of owner-occupied U.S. homes have no mortgage: which states lead, what owner costs run with and without a mortgage, and how the share changes with age.
49 sec · Captions available on the player · Presented by AI-generated presenters, with every line taken from the FreeRateUpdate page it answers.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, tables B25081, B25088 and B25027, figures checked Oct. 26, 2026
Transcript
This is FreeRateUpdate News. I'm Edmund Ledger. Let's look at homes with no mortgage at all.
About 34.9 million American homes are owned free and clear. That's 40.3 percent of owner-occupied homes.
West Virginia leads at 55.1 percent. Mississippi and New Mexico are above half too.
The median owner costs on a paid-off home were $664 a month. With a mortgage, $2,035.
Those owner costs cover taxes, insurance, utilities and fees. Repairs and upkeep aren't counted.
Age matters. When the householder is 75 or older, 72 percent of homes have no mortgage.
I'm Edmund Ledger, for FreeRateUpdate News.
What the charts show
Three bar charts. Owner-occupied homes with no mortgage: West Virginia 55.1%, Mississippi 51.6%, New Mexico 50.6%, United States 40.3%, Maryland (the lowest state) 30.0%. Median selected monthly owner costs: $664 with no mortgage, $2,035 with a mortgage. Homes with no mortgage by age of householder: under 35, 19.2%; 35 to 44, 19.5%; 45 to 54, 26.3%; 55 to 59, 36.0%; 60 to 64, 46.0%; 65 to 74, 57.7%; 75 and older, 72.0%.