Homeownership Is 78.6% For Householders 65 And Older But Only 35.2% For Those Under 35 Showing How Wide The Generational Housing Gap Is

If you own your home, you are part of a group that looks very different depending on your age. New numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show just how wide the gap is between older and younger households when it comes to owning a place of their own.

An aerial view of a suburban neighborhood with colorful autumn trees and houses.

The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey, released July 28, 2026 for the second quarter of 2026, puts the homeownership rate for householders 65 and older at 78.6%. For householders under 35, it is 35.2%. That is a gap of 43.4 percentage points between the oldest group and the youngest.

The Numbers At A Glance

The figures come from the Census Bureau’s quarterly release on residential vacancies and homeownership. Here is what it reported for the second quarter of 2026:

The overall homeownership rate was 65.0%.
Householders 65 and over had the highest rate, at 78.6%.
Householders under 35 had the lowest rate, at 35.2%.
The rental vacancy rate was 7.3%.
The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%.

In plain terms, nearly four out of five older householders own their homes, while a little over one in three householders under 35 do. Those are two very different realities living in the same country.

What The Gap Means

The Census release reports the numbers rather than explaining why they look the way they do, so it is worth being careful here. But a few general points help put the gap in context.

Homeownership usually takes time. Many people buy a first home somewhere along the way as they build savings, settle into a job and decide where they want to live. By the time someone is 65 or older, they have had many years in which to buy, pay down a mortgage and stay put. A person under 35 is simply earlier in that road, and some of the gap is just a matter of age.

Still, it is fair to ask how hard that road is for younger households today. The figures are a snapshot of one quarter, so they cannot tell us how the gap has changed or what is driving it. What they do show is where things stand right now.

A Quick Word About Vacancy

The same release has a couple of other numbers that tell us about the market. The rental vacancy rate was 7.3%, and the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%. In general, a vacancy rate describes the share of housing that is empty and available.

The two rates sit far apart, and that is worth noticing if you are a renter weighing a move or an owner thinking about selling. The Census release does not offer advice, but the numbers do show the rental side has more empty units, relatively speaking, than the ownership side.

It is also worth remembering that a single percentage covers a lot of different situations. Behind the 78.6% are people who bought decades ago, people who inherited a place and people who downsized. Behind the 35.2% are renters who are saving, renters who are happy where they are, and young families who are looking hard at the market. The Census numbers count households. They do not tell the stories inside them.

If You Are Older And Own Your Home

For the many homeowners in the 65 and over group, the numbers are a reminder that the house is often the largest asset you have. A few questions are worth asking yourself:

Is the home still the right size and layout for how you live now?
Do you have a plan for upkeep, repairs and rising costs on a fixed income?
Have you talked with family about what you want for the home down the road?

These are not easy conversations, but they are easier now than in a crisis. Many families find it helps to write down their wishes and keep copies of important papers somewhere everyone can find them.

If You Are Younger Or Helping Someone Who Is

For those under 35, or for parents and grandparents who want to help, a few ideas apply no matter what the market is doing:

Learn what you can afford before you start shopping, including monthly costs beyond the mortgage, such as taxes, insurance and upkeep.
Build a cash cushion for repairs. A home always needs something.
Talk to a few lenders and compare, rather than going with the first offer.
If you are helping a younger family member, ask a financial professional about the best way to do it, since gifts and loans can have different consequences.

The Big Picture

An overall homeownership rate of 65.0% tells us that most households own their homes. But the average hides a wide spread. Older householders are far more likely to own than younger ones, and the Census Bureau’s own data shows it plainly.

Whether you are on the owning side of that gap or the hoping side, the numbers are a good prompt to think about what a home means to your family, what it costs to keep one, and what you want to pass along or work toward. A statistic like this is just a starting point for a conversation, and it is one worth having at the kitchen table.

Willow and Hearth