Mapped: The States With the Most Empty Homes

Mapped: The States With the Most Empty Homes

America faces a housing shortage, yet about 14.5 million homes across the country are vacant. How can both be true?

Using the latest U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by LendingTree, this map shows the share of vacant housing units in every state. The figures include vacation homes, rentals awaiting tenants, homes for sale, and other unoccupied properties, not just abandoned buildings.

Which States Have the Highest Vacancy Rates?

About one in 10 U.S. housing units is vacant, but most are not permanently sitting unused.

Nearly 4.7 million vacant units are seasonal or recreational homes, 2.6 million are available for rent, and fewer than 800,000 are actively listed for sale. This helps explain why states with large vacation-home markets, including Maine, Vermont, Florida, and Hawaii, record some of the nation’s highest vacancy rates.

Rank	State	Vacancy Rate 2024	Vacant Housing Units
1	Maine	20.6%	154,717
2	Vermont	19.4%	65,626
3	Alaska	17.6%	57,958
4	West Virginia	15.4%	132,670
5	Florida	14.7%	1,503,660
6	Mississippi	14.6%	195,683
7	Alabama	14.5%	340,018
8	Louisiana	14.4%	304,122
9	New Hampshire	14.3%	92,650
10	Arkansas	13.5%	188,686
11	Delaware	13.4%	62,165
12	Hawaii	13.3%	75,443
13	South Carolina	13.3%	325,050
14	Montana	13.2%	69,560
15	New Mexico	12.5%	119,550
16	North Carolina	12.5%	613,323
17	North Dakota	12.3%	46,218
18	Wyoming	12.2%	33,823
19	Oklahoma	12.0%	212,738
20	Michigan	11.8%	545,867
21	Missouri	11.2%	317,060
22	Wisconsin	10.8%	299,092
23	Arizona	10.5%	336,758
24	South Dakota	10.5%	43,040
25	Georgia	10.3%	467,469
26	Idaho	10.3%	82,009
27	Kentucky	10.3%	208,647
28	Tennessee	10.2%	319,393
29	District of Columbia	10.1%	36,523
30	New York	10.0%	862,595
31	Texas	9.4%	1,135,699
32	Minnesota	9.3%	237,075
33	Nevada	9.3%	123,878
34	Kansas	9.2%	119,575
35	Pennsylvania	9.2%	531,599
36	Rhode Island	9.1%	44,362
37	Indiana	8.8%	260,559
38	Virginia	8.7%	319,024
39	Iowa	8.5%	121,992
40	Colorado	8.3%	214,835
41	Massachusetts	8.1%	245,364
42	Ohio	8.1%	429,200
43	Utah	8.1%	98,646
44	Illinois	7.7%	421,003
45	Maryland	7.7%	197,856
46	Nebraska	7.6%	65,597
47	California	7.5%	1,096,644
48	New Jersey	7.5%	283,653
49	Oregon	7.5%	139,570
50	Washington	7.3%	241,800
51	Connecticut	7.0%	107,815
—	U.S. total	10.1%	14,547,859

Maine leads the country with a vacancy rate of 20.6%, followed by Vermont at 19.4% and Alaska at 17.6%. At the other end of the ranking, Washington and Connecticut have rates of around 7%, while California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts also sit near the bottom.

In these states, available housing is often absorbed quickly, leaving fewer homes unoccupied. A low vacancy rate can therefore reflect strong demand, not necessarily a healthier or more affordable housing market.

Why Empty Homes Won’t Solve the Housing Crisis

At first glance, millions of vacant homes may appear sufficient to ease America’s housing shortage. In practice, many are not available to year-round buyers or renters.

Some are second homes or seasonal properties concentrated in vacation destinations, while others are temporarily vacant between tenants or owners. High vacancy rates and housing shortages can therefore exist at the same time, particularly in expensive metropolitan areas where year-round housing remains scarce.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the salary needed to afford rent across America.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-where-americas-homes-sit-empty/