Homeownership Rate

ACS 1-year estimates are based on data collected over one calendar year, offering more current information but with a higher margin of error. ACS 5-year estimates combine five years of data, providing more reliable information but less current. Both are based on probability samples. Some racial and ethnic categories are suppressed to avoid misleading estimates when the relative standard error exceeds 30%. Data Source: American Community Survey (ACS) 1- & 5-Year Estimates Why This Matters Homeownership has historically been an important source of intergenerational wealth. For many, homeownership can provide financial and housing security. Rising home prices over the past two decades have outpaced wage growth, perpetuating significant racial disparities in homeownership rates and contributing to the displacement of Black residents and other people of color from the District. A history of redlining and racist real estate practices, like racial covenants, barred Black and other people of color from homeownership. The District's Response Convening of the Black Homeownership Strikeforce to address past harms and increase equitable homeownership rates through targeted, evidence-based recommendations, and setting the goal of creating 20,000 new Black homeowners by 2030. Programs to enable homeowning families and individuals to remain in their homes, including the Homestead Deduction and Senior Citizen or Disabled Property Owner Tax Relief and the Heir Property Assistance Program. Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) Affordable Housing Program and financial assistance programs like the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP), Employer Assisted Housing Program (EAHP), and Negotiated Employee Assistance Home Purchase Program (NEAHP) to support homeownership among District residents.