In some regions of the U.S. with large non-white populations, Black homeownership is higher, but that isn’t always the case. For example, New York City has a large minority population, but the Big Apple has the second lowest non-white homeownership rate in the U.S. at just 33.1 percent. North Dakota, with a non-white homeownership rate of 31.6 percent, has the lowest rate in the country.
Still, some U.S. cities are defying the national trend of extremely low Black homeownership, and are showing an increase in home ownership by Blacks.
Construction Coverage recently analyzed data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, showing the cities with the highest and lowest locations of homeownership by race. The data in the report was categorized by race.
Census data also shows that homeownership is on the rise in 10 specific regions. These regions include:
- Columbus, Ohio
- Providence, RI
- Houston, TX
- Tampa-Clearwater, FL
- Albuquerque, NM
- Dayton, Ohio
- Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA
- Baltimore-Towson, MD
- Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
- Louisville, KY
- Tulsa, OK
- Charlotte, NC
- Fresno, CA
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Syracuse, NY
High Rates of Black Homeownership
According to the data provided, Black homeownership is highest in Philadelphia at 48 percent, despite recent reports from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia that rates of ownership are declining. Black homeownership in Philadelphia was higher than 50 percent before the real estate bust in 2007. Experts cite white flight and access to inexpensive properties as playing a factor in Philadelphia’s Black homeownership rates being higher than other locations.
Detroit also has a high rate of Black homeownership. According to data released, 45 percent of homeowners are Black. The Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News area follows with 43 percent of homeownership. The city of El Paso, Texas, rounds out the cities with the highest rates of Black homeownership with 41 percent.
Despite these rates of noted homeownership, the data also shows the gap existing between Black homeowners and other races. While Philadelphia might boast the highest rate of Black homeownership in the nation, white homeownership is 58 percent — 10 percentage points higher. Also notable is the gap in homeownership in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News area; 69 percent of whites owned homes, compared to 43 percent for Black property owners. Finally, in El Paso, white homeownership was 61 percent, 20 percentage points higher than Black homeowners.
This data is indicative of a greater problem — the wealth gap existing between Black and white Americans. An estimated 42 percent of Black Americans own their homes compared to 73 percent of white Americans.
