15 Cities With the Largest Minority Homeownership Gap in 2023

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Construction Coverage.

Homeownership offers the opportunity to accumulate wealth and keep housing costs relatively consistent over time, both of which contribute to financial stability.

However, homeownership benefits have not been experienced equally. Significant racial disparities in homeownership rates have persisted for decades, leading to large racial wealth gaps for some minority groups.

The minority homeownership gap, defined here as the difference between the white homeownership rate and the minority homeownership rate, hovered around 25 percentage points for years.

The minority homeownership gap varies across the U.S. due to factors such as local demographic makeup and historical homeownership rates.

To determine the locations with the largest minority homeownership gaps, researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The researchers ranked metros according to the minority homeownership gap, defined as the percentage point difference in homeownership rates between whites and minorities. Researchers also calculated the minority median property value and the white median property value. Minorities are people who are not non-Hispanic white.

Here are the U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest minority homeownership gaps.

15. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -27.4
• Minority homeownership rate: 42.7%
• White homeownership rate: 70.2%
• Minority median property value: $532,000
• White median property value: $505,000

14. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -27.9
• Minority homeownership rate: 52.7%
• White homeownership rate: 80.5%
• Minority median property value: $150,000
• White median property value: $232,000

13. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -28.7
• Minority homeownership rate: 48.2%
• White homeownership rate: 76.9%
• Minority median property value: $240,000
• White median property value: $280,000

12. Columbus, OH

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -28.7
• Minority homeownership rate: 40.3%
• White homeownership rate: 69.0%
• Minority median property value: $220,000
• White median property value: $250,000

11. Pittsburgh, PA

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -28.8
• Minority homeownership rate: 46.5%
• White homeownership rate: 75.3%
• Minority median property value: $175,000
• White median property value: $190,000

10. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -28.8
• Minority homeownership rate: 40.8%
• White homeownership rate: 69.6%
• Minority median property value: $310,000
• White median property value: $350,000

9. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -29.0
• Minority homeownership rate: 38.8%
• White homeownership rate: 67.8%
• Minority median property value: $500,000
• White median property value: $500,000

8. St. Louis, MO-IL

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -29.3
• Minority homeownership rate: 49.5%
• White homeownership rate: 78.9%
• Minority median property value: $160,000
• White median property value: $210,000

7. Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -30.9
• Minority homeownership rate: 45.2%
• White homeownership rate: 76.1%
• Minority median property value: $180,000
• White median property value: $215,000

6. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -30.9
• Minority homeownership rate: 43.8%
• White homeownership rate: 74.7%
• Minority median property value: $180,000
• White median property value: $210,000

5. Memphis, TN-MS-AR

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -31.1
• Minority homeownership rate: 47.4%
• White homeownership rate: 78.6%
• Minority median property value: $150,000
• White median property value: $250,000

4. Rochester, NY

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -31.7
• Minority homeownership rate: 43.3%
• White homeownership rate: 75.0%
• Minority median property value: $150,000
• White median property value: $175,000

3. Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -32.0
• Minority homeownership rate: 42.2%
• White homeownership rate: 74.2%
• Minority median property value: $150,000
• White median property value: $195,000

2. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -32.2
• Minority homeownership rate: 38.8%
• White homeownership rate: 71.0%
• Minority median property value: $170,000
• White median property value: $280,000

1. Cleveland-Elyria, OH

• Minority homeownership gap (percentage points): -34.7
• Minority homeownership rate: 41.4%
• White homeownership rate: 76.0%
• Minority median property value: $130,000
• White median property value: $200,000

Methodology

To determine the locations with the largest minority homeownership gap, researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey.

The researchers ranked metros according to the minority homeownership gap, defined as the percentage point difference in homeownership rates between whites and minorities. In the event of a tie, the metro with the smaller minority homeownership rate was ranked higher.

Researchers also calculated the minority median property value and the white median property value. For the purposes of this analysis, minorities are people who are not non-Hispanic white. Additionally, minority homeownership gaps may not equal the sum of their components due to rounding error.

To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 people were included in the analysis.