10 Cities With the Oldest — and Youngest — Homeowners

If you are a young adult just starting out in life, Austin, Texas, might be the perfect place to call home. However, those at the other end of the age scale may prefer to head to the beaches and warmth of Miami.

The average age of homeowners in the two cities are the lowest and highest in the nation, respectively, according to a LendingTree analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

Overall, the average age of a homeowner across the nation’s 50 biggest metropolitan areas is between 51 and 52 years old. In fact, the average homeowner age is under 50 in just nine of those metro areas.

Two states illustrate how different homeowner demographics can be in different parts of the country.

Florida is home to the two metro areas with the oldest homeowners: Miami and Tampa. By contrast, Texas is home to three of the four metro areas with the youngest homeowners, with Austin, Houston and Dallas all making the list.

The five metros with the highest average homeowner age are:

1. Miami: 54.47 years old
2. Tampa, Florida: 54.19
3. Pittsburgh: 53.79
4. Providence, Rhode Island: 53.65
5. Cleveland: 53.59

The five metros with the youngest average homeowner age are:

1. Austin: 47.58 years old
2. St. Louis: 48.77
3. Houston: 49.00
4. Dallas: 49.08
5. Denver: 49.60

LendingTree says these city rankings should be no surprise.

As a general rule, older people tend to move to the Eastern U.S. Not only can they find warm locations like Miami and Tampa, but they also have built up enough wealth over a lifetime to afford more expensive East Coast cities such as Providence or New York City.

On the other hand, younger people look toward the less-expensive cities of the West. If they do end up in more costly Western cities — such as Denver or San Jose, California — it is because the job markets there are strong.

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Also, check out “The 6 Worst Mortgage Mistakes You Can Make.”