The average American packs up and moves homes about every five years, according to data from the Census Bureau. However, there are outliers. Some people move even more often, while others seem to put down roots and stay for decades.
55places.com, a resource for those looking for retirement communities across the nation, recently dug into data from the Census Bureau to find out where there are the most “deep-rooted” homeowners [1] and where there are the least.
It turns out the city with the highest percentage of homeowners who have lived in their current home for at least 30 years is Detroit. Nearly 40% of today’s homeowners in Detroit have lived in their current home for more than 30 years.
At the other end of the spectrum, Frisco, Texas, is home to the most new homeowners in the country. In this Dallas suburb, 43.6% of homeowners have lived in their current home fewer than 10 years.
Frisco is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation [2], ranking as the No. 1 fastest-growing city in 2017 and coming in at No. 4 in the most recent Census Data as analyzed by Quicken Loans.
Frisco’s population grew at a rate of 6.1% in 2018, and its employment rate increased 6.88% in 2017. Meanwhile, Detroit’s population [3] has reportedly fallen just slightly.
Frisco and Detroit have far different property values and incomes, according to the data reported by 55places.com.
In Detroit, where homeowners have a greater tendency to stay put, the median household income is $30,344, and the median property value is $50,200.
On the other hand, in Frisco, the median household income is in the six figures at $120,701, and the median property value is $335,900.
Perhaps the contrast in financial resources between the two cities is leading to more residents moving up to different or larger homes in Frisco while Detroit homeowners stay put. Also, Detroit has seen a slump in new construction [4], with new home construction falling 17% over the year last year.
However, while Frisco’s affluence may be helping to push up its percentage of new homeowners as new employment opportunities and population growth lead to home purchases, higher affluence does not always coincide with a population on the move.
In Daly City, California, located in the Bay Area, the median household income is a comfortable $86,342, and the median property value is $651,600. Daly City ranked No. 2 on the list of cities with the most deep-rooted homeowners with 27.2% of homeowners having lived in their homes at least 30 years.
Honolulu shared similar stats with a median income of $81,284, a median property value of $680,200 and coming in No. 5 on the list of places with the highest percentage of deep-rooted homeowners.
It may be worth noting that the Bay area and Honolulu have higher costs of living in general, and their higher incomes may not go as far as they would in other areas.
Other cities ranking high for long-term homeowners had incomes closer to Detroit’s in the $30,000s and $40,000s.
Following Frisco on the list of cities with the highest percentages of shorter-term homeowners, were Gilbert, Arizona, and McKinney, Texas. Median household incomes in both of these cities are nearly $88,000.
For its analysis, 55places.com reviewed Census data for more than 300 large cities that have populations of at least 100,000.