Homeownership rates among foreign-born U.S. residents are on the rise, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
During 2011, 52% of foreign-born householders in the U.S. owned their homes; in contrast, 67% of native-born householders owned their homes during that year. In naturalized citizen households, 66% were owner-occupied, compared to 34% of noncitizen households. Among foreign-born households with a householder who entered the country before 1980, nearly three-fourths were owned rather than rented. Among households headed by someone who entered the U.S. since 2000, only one-fourth were owned.
The Census Bureau found that 10 metropolitan statistical areas accounted for about half the nation's foreign-born households in 2011, led by New York and Los Angeles, each of which had more than 1 million foreign-born households. Homeownership by foreign-born householders varied considerably around the country. States such as Alaska, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire and New Mexico had homeownership rates of about 60% among foreign-born households, while fewer than 40% of foreign-born households were owned rather than rented in Washington, D.C., and New York.
‘Homeownership is a goal shared by many residents of the United States, both native- and foreign-born, citizen and noncitizen,’ says Elizabeth Grieco, chief of the foreign-born population branch at the Census Bureau. ‘For immigrants in particular – who maintain nearly one in seven households in the U.S. – making the transition from renter to homeowner represents a significant investment in the United States.’