Hidden costs lift median U.S. homeownership payments 26% since 2019, Census reports
Mortgage expenses, insurance and rising HOA fees pushed typical monthly ownership costs for homeowners with a mortgage to $2,035 in 2024, while owners without mortgages also saw sharp increases.
The median monthly ownership cost for U.S. homeowners with a mortgage rose to $2,035 in 2024, a nearly 7% increase from a year earlier and a 26% jump from 2019, according to American Community Survey data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
While home values climbed over the five-year period, the 2024 increase in typical monthly homeowner costs was driven primarily by higher mortgage expenses, rising insurance premiums and growing condominium and homeowners association fees, the survey showed.
The survey found that homeowners who do not carry a mortgage also faced rising costs. The median monthly ownership cost for those who owned their homes outright was $664 in 2024, up 5.5% from 2023 and 31% from 2019. Those owners continue to contend with higher property taxes, insurance and maintenance expenses even without mortgage payments.
"Rising insurance premiums and HOA/condo fees are the behind-the-scenes culprits for this increase outside of the basic increases to mortgage rates and home prices we’ve seen since 2019," said Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com. "It’s not always clear to prospective homebuyers to budget for these costs since they sit on top of the basic principal and interest payments on a home, but these costs are rising and are a significant portion of what homeowners pay every month."
Geographic differences in homeowner costs were pronounced. Among states, California had the highest median monthly ownership cost for mortgage holders at $3,001, followed by Hawaii at $2,937, New Jersey at $2,797 and Massachusetts at $2,755. Washington, D.C., which is frequently included in state-level comparisons, recorded the highest median monthly cost in the nation at $3,181.
States with the lowest median monthly costs for homeowners with a mortgage were West Virginia ($1,272), Arkansas ($1,375), Mississippi ($1,448) and Kentucky ($1,453).
The ACS data highlighted the growing role of condo and HOA fees in household budgets. Nearly one-quarter of homeowners reported paying monthly dues in 2024, and the national median condo or HOA fee was $135. New York had the highest median monthly fee at $739. Nevada, Florida and Arizona had the largest shares of homeowners reporting condo or HOA dues, at 51%, 44% and 45% respectively.
"As extreme weather events continue to strike and homeowners associations face rising costs of the services they provide, these costs get passed on to homeowners and further stretch their budgets thin," Berner added.
More than half of owned homes — 59.7% — had a monthly mortgage payment in 2024. The number of homes owned free and clear increased by roughly 900,000 in 2024 to about 35 million, up from about 34.1 million in 2023. Vermont and New Mexico showed the largest annual rises in the share of free-and-clear homes, with increases of 8.9% and 8.7%, respectively.
The Census Bureau release underscores a broader affordability challenge for owners and prospective buyers, as costs beyond principal and interest become an increasingly visible part of monthly housing expenses. Policymakers, lenders and housing market participants use the American Community Survey as a key source for tracking such trends across states and metro areas.