Homeownership Among Never Married Adults, 2024
Family Profile No. 9, 2026
Author: Katherine G. Ripley
Since 1960, the percentage of all U.S. adults who have never been married or have yet to marry has doubled from 15% to 32% in 2024 (Smith, 2026). More recently, the national homeownership rate declined slightly—from 67% in 2006 to 66% in 2019 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2026). Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the cost of homes surged nationwide by almost 55% in 2025 (National Association of Home Builders, 2025). This underscores the necessity of continually assessing any potential impact of this rapid increase on the growing never married population. Consequently, this family profile examines the percentages of homeowners across marital status using the 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates and highlights differentials in homeownership among never married adults (aged 18 and older) by sex, race, and ethnicity, and educational attainment. This profile updates FP-23-14 (Marino, 2023).
Homeownership Across Marital Status, 2024
- The percentage of homeowners was greatest among married adults, with 81% owning a home.
- Widowed individuals had the next highest share of homeownership at 71%.
- Three-fifths (60%) of divorced adults reported they owned a home in 2024.
- The lowest share of homeownership across all marital statuses was among those who reported that they were never married (or had yet to be married). In fact, never married homeowners comprised less than half (48%) of the never-married population.
Figure 1. Homeownership Across Marital Status, 2024
Source: NCFMR Analysis of American Community Survey, 1-year estimates, 2024 (IPUMS USA)
Percentage of Never Married Homeowners by Sex, 2024
Figure 2. Percentage of Never Married Homeowners by Sex, 2024
Source: NCFMR Analysis of American Community Survey, 1-year estimates, 2024 (IPUMS USA)
- Among never married males, slightly less than half (49%) owned a home, whereas a slightly lower percentage of never married females were homeowners in 2024 (46%).
Percentage of Never Married Homeowners by Race & Ethnicity, 2024
- More than half (54%) of non-Hispanic White adults who reported that they were never married or had yet to marry owned a home in 2024. This is the highest share of homeownership among never married adults across all racial and ethnic groups.
- Among those who were never married and were classified as non-Hispanic Other/2+ races, almost half owned a home (49%).
- About 44% of Hispanic adults who had never married owned a home.
- The lowest share of homeowners who were never married across all racial and ethnic groups were non-Hispanic Black adults, at 37%.
Figure 3. Percentage of Never Married Homeowners by Race & Ethnicity, 2024
Source: NCFMR Analysis of American Community Survey, 1-year estimates, 2024 (IPUMS USA)
Note. NH = non-Hispanic. “Other/2+ Races” includes non-Hispanic individuals identifying as Asian (including Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander), American Indian or Alaska Native alone, some other race alone, or two or more races
Percentage of Never Married Homeowners by Educational Attainment, 2024
Figure 4. Percentage of Never Married Homeowners by Educational Attainment, 2024
Source: NCFMR Analysis of American Community Survey, 1-year estimates, 2024 (IPUMS USA)
Note. HS = high school; GED = general education diploma; SC = some college; Assoc = associate degree; Bach+ = bachelor’s degree or higher.
- The highest share of homeownership among never married adults across all education levels was among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher. This group was the only one with over half (51%) of never married adults owning a home in 2024.
- Among never married adults with a high school diploma, 49% were homeowners. The share among those with at least some college education was slightly lower than those with a high school diploma, at 47%.
- The lowest share of homeownership was among those who had not received a high school diploma (42%).
This Family Profile is an update of: FP-23-14
Data Source:
Ruggles, S., Flood, S., Sobek, M., Backman, D., Cooper, G., Rivera Drew, J. A., Richards, S., Rodgers, R., Schroeder, J., & Williams, K. C. W. (2025). IPUMS USA: Version 16.0 [Dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V16.0
References:
Marino, F. A. (2023). Homeownership among never married adults, 2021. Family Profiles, FP-23-14. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-23-14
National Association of Home Builders. (2025, December 3). Top and bottom 10 markets for house price appreciation. National Association of Home Builders. https://www.nahb.org/blog/2025/12/third-quarter-house-price-appreciation
Smith, H. N. (2026). Unmarried Adulthood: More than a century of change, 1900-2024. Family Profiles, FP-26-04. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2026, February 3). Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Fourth Quarter 2025. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/current/index.html
Suggested Citation:
Ripley, K. G. (2026). Homeownership among never married adults, 2024. Family Profiles, FP-26-09. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-26-09
Updated: 06/25/2026 11:23AM