From a purely mathematical standpoint, there’s no shortage of housing in the United States. Between 2012 and 2022, the American Community Survey reports that the U.S. population grew 7.1 percent from 309.1 million to 331.1 million. Over the same decade, the number of housing units grew from 131.6 million to 140.9 million, or 7.1 percent.

Distribution goes a long way toward explaining the lack of affordable housing in many areas. The gap between population and housing unit changes were most pronounced in fast-growing Sunbelt cities. For example, Maricopa County, Ariz., increased its population by 15.3 percent (+589,000) but housing stock rose only 11.3 percent (+185,000). The population of Clark County, Nev., climbed 15.9 percent (+311,000) but the number of homes only increased 10.1 percent (+84,000).

Another barometer of the U.S. housing market: As housing prices shot up between 2012 and 2022, the number of vacant homes fell sharply. Nationwide, there were 16.4 million homes with no one living in them in 2012; by 2022, that figure had fallen to 15.2 million, a 7.4 percent

decline.

 

In Seminole County, Fla., there were 32,600 vacant homes in 2012; 10 years later, the American Community Survey found fewer than 11,300, a 65.5 percent drop. In Gwinnett County, Ga., an Atlanta suburb of almost 1 million, the number of vacant homes fell from almost 27,000 to 13,200, a 51 percent decline.

Owning a home has become far more expensive over the last decade – but a greater percentage of housing units are owned, according to the American Community Survey. Homeowners occupied about 81.5 million housing units in 2022, an increase of roughly 6 million from the 2012 figure. The number of housing units, meanwhile, climbed by 9.3 million to 140.9 million.

 

The largest increases in homeownership over the decade occurred in the fast-growing suburbs around Austin and Houston, Texas. Homeowner ranks shot up 50.6 percent in Williamson County, an Austin suburb, and 43.7 percent in Fort Bend County, near Houston.

 

The ranks of U.S. homeowners of prime-home buying age has grown over the last decade … but not by very much. The American Community Survey found 20.814 million people between the ages of 25 and 44 owned their home in 2012; the figure had climbed to 20.819 million by 2022, an increase of 0.03 percent.

 

The largest gains occurred either in rural counties, where even a minor influx of young homebuyers could cause the percentage to shoot up, or in suburban counties next to fast- growing areas, like Comal County, Texas. The Austin suburb registered a 79.4 percent uptick in young homeowners between 2012 and 2022, even while adding only 51.6 percent to its population of 165,200.

The ranks of American homeowners grew between 2012 and 2022, despite high prices and soaring interest rates that prevented millions of younger buyers from acquiring their own homes. Instead, the American Community Survey shows, most of the homeowner growth occurred in people older than 55. The number of housing units owned by older American totaled 44.5 million in 2022, a 22.8% increase from 2012.

 

Although older Americans typically have flocked to retirement Meccas like Florida and Arizona, the increase over the last decade was most pronounced in fast-growing suburbs like Loudoun County, Va. (84.2 percent); Forsyth County, Ga. (82.6 percent); Denton County, Texas (82.4

percent); Fort Bend County, Texas (77.3 percent); and Douglas County, Colo. (74 percent).

Despite high prices and soaring interest rates, the percentage of housing units rented by Americans between the ages of 25 and 44 increased only 5.3 percent over the last decade, according to the American Community Survey. About 20.1 million of the nation’s 44.2 million rental units were occupied by householders who generally are of prime homebuying age. 

 

Most of the growth in rental households occurred in rapidly growing suburbs, such as Dallas County, Iowa (Des Moines, +114.1 percent); Hays County, Texas (Austin, +75.9 percent); Williamson County, Tenn. (Nashville, +62.2 percent); Hendricks County, Ind. (Indianapolis, +57.4 percent); and Fort Bend County, Texas (Houston, + 55.6 percent).

A review of 2018-22 American Community Survey data finds the greatest growth of single-family homes over the last decade was in the places where it would be most expected – fast-growing suburbs like Hays County, Texas (Austin, +54.3 percent), Sumter County, Fla. (The Villages, +48.6 percent), and Comal County, Texas (San Antonio, +47.1 percent). Another area high on the list was McKenzie County, N.D. (+53.3 percent), the beneficiary of an oil and gas boom.

 

At least one county, however, stood out as totally unexpected: New York County, N.Y. The island borough, among the most densely populated areas in the United States, had 5,907 single-family housing units in 2012; by 2022, the figure had soared 77.1 percent to 10,459. The most likely reasons? A large margin of error caused by a small sample or more evidence that the nation’s largest metro area is becoming a playground for extremely wealthy individuals.

One of the biggest policy complaints about the lack of affordable housing in the United States is the refusal of many areas to allow large multifamily housing complexes to be built. But a review of 2018-2022 and 2008-12 American Community Survey data shows that the number of housing complexes with 50 or more units grew by 36.6 percent over the last decade — more than five times faster than the number of single-family homes.

 

Critics of zoning policies, however, may be on to something. The largest increase in big multifamily complexes was found in McKenzie County, N.D., where an oil boom led to a 22,367 percent jump in housing with 50 or more units. High-cost urban areas added far fewer big complexes; Honolulu County, Hawaii, home to the nation’s most expensive real estate, only saw its stock of large complexes increase about 12 percent over the decade. Bronx County, N.Y., one of the nation’s poorest counties, reported a 3.8 percent decline in large housing complexes.

It's possible your friends weren’t kidding when they said they’d given up on being able to afford a house. The percentage of people living in a van, boat, or recreational vehicle leapt almost 50 percent between 2012 and 2022, according to the American Community Survey. Still, it’s a fairly

small number, with the Census Bureau finding only 160,014 van-, RV- or boat-dwellers in 2022 – about 0.1 percent of the population.

 

The largest percentage changes generally were recorded in rural counties with temperate climates, such as Gonzales County, Texas. The south-central county reported two people living in a van or on a boat in 2012; the figure had climbed to 153 people by 2022, a 7,550 percent increase. Among counties with more than 100,000 residents, Madison County, Ala., stood out, with a 3,942 percent increase, from seven in 2012 to 283 in 2022.

No doubt, rents have increased sharply over the last decade. But a review of American Community Survey data shows the increases – while painful – weren’t completely off the charts. The median gross rent for a home increased 15.1 percent between 2012 and 2022, rising to $1,268, up from an inflation-adjusted $1,102 monthly rent bill.

 

The largest increases, at least on a percentage basis, were in extremely rural areas here there was little existing housing. In McKenzie County, N.D., ground zero for an oil and gas boom through much of the decade, median rents rose 104.8 percent to $1,192 per month. In San Mateo County, Calif., the median gross rent rose 46.9 percent to $2,805 per month. The seven most expensive rental markets were in California, primarily around the San Francisco Bay Area; the next three were suburban Virginia counties that circle Washington, D.C.

 

 

Inflation-adjusted rents climbed 15.1 percent between 2012 and 2022, according to the American Community Survey. So why not buy a house? Because the median value of a home soared 25.3 percent over the decade to $281,900, the Census Bureau figures showed – and it’s likely that that figure is already an extremely conservative estimate.

 

The increase in median values was most pronounced in rural areas with little housing; Crockett County, in far West Texas, posted a 182.3 percent jump in value, climbing from $51,800 to $183,100 for 932 homes. Among the 10 most populated counties, Dallas County registered the largest increase (+57.5 percent, $252,200); only Cook County, Ill., lost value (-3.3, $293,700).