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In more than 60% of metro areas, the occupations most likely to own homes today is different from what it was a decade ago.

Some jobs make it easier to become a homeowner than others. Higher salaries can help, but so can job stability along with where those jobs are located. In some parts of the country, teachers and construction workers have strong homeownership rates. In others, even traditionally high-earning positions like engineers can struggle to keep up with housing costs.

Looking at homeownership by occupation helps answer a simple question: which workers are most likely to own homes—and where?

At the national level, the occupations with the highest homeownership rates have remained largely unchanged over the past decade. Management and business professionals continue to lead the list, with about 72% owning their homes in 2024, almost unchanged from 2014. Education and social service workers also remain near the top. Although their homeownership rate fell compared with a decade ago, the decline was smaller than the drop among STEM occupations, making educators the second-highest group after management and business professionals. This likely reflects that many technology workers are concentrated in some of the most expensive housing markets, where housing costs have risen faster than incomes.

However, some other occupations have gained ground. Sales and real estate professionals saw their homeownership rate rise from 60.8% in 2014 to 63.3% in 2024, reflecting stronger gains in housing access for that group. Even more notable is the progress among service occupations. While these workers still have the lowest homeownership rate in the country, their rate increased the most over the past decade, rising from 42.7% to 48.5%.

But when we zoom in locally, the story becomes much more dynamic. Let’s look at the occupation of homeowners across the country.

Management & Business: 72.2%

Executives, managers, and financial professionals are the most likely to own homes. Nationally, 72.2% of households in these professions own their homes, slightly lower than 72.4% in 2014.

Several mid-sized metros, areas with more than 100,000 households, also stand out for strong ownership rates amongst these professionals. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; York–Hanover, Pennsylvania; and Duluth, Minnesota, all report homeownership rates of nearly 90% among management & business workers. Another distinction is that many of these markets combine professional employment opportunities with relatively attainable home prices.

Some areas also saw significant gains since 2014, including markets in the Midwest and parts of the South, where home prices have remained more in line with local incomes.

Teachers and Social Service Professionals: 67.3%

Educators have a national homeownership rate of 67.3%, down from 68.0% in 2014.

Several metros stand out for both strong ownership levels and gains since 2014, especially communities where home prices remain within reach for middle-income households. Daphne–Fairhope–Foley, Alabama; Brownsville–Harlington, Texas; and Fort Smith, Arkansas, are some of the markets with particularly strong homeownership rates for educators. In these markets, relatively affordable housing helps teachers transition into homeownership more easily.

Engineers and Technical Professionals: 67.2%

Workers in STEM and technical occupations—including engineers, computer scientists, and technical specialists—have some of the highest homeownership rates overall at 67.2%, below 69.2% in 2014.

Even though the national rate edged down, several metros saw increases in homeownership among technical workers. Markets such as Ocala, Florida; Montgomery, Alabama; and Savannah, Georgia, show strong ownership outcomes, reflecting continued job growth in the technology and research sectors, combined with housing markets that remain more attainable than those in many coastal tech hubs.

Sales & Real Estate: 63.3%

Workers in sales and real estate occupations saw one of the largest increases in homeownership over the past decade. Nationally, the rate rose from 60.8% in 2014 to 63.3% today.

Metros such as Appleton, Wisconsin; Lexington, Kentucky; and Palm Bay, Florida, show strong homeownership rates among these workers and have also experienced notable gains over the past decade.

Healthcare: 62.2%

Workers in healthcare occupations—including nurses, physicians, and medical technicians—have a national homeownership rate of 62.2%, up from 61.8% in 2014.

Metros such as Beaumont, Texas; Cape Coral, Florida; and Lynchburg, Virginia, show strong ownership rates among healthcare workers. These areas also experienced increases over the past decade, supported by steady healthcare employment and moderate housing costs.

Skilled Trades & Construction: 62%

Construction and skilled trades workers—such as electricians, carpenters, and construction workers—have a homeownership rate of 62.0%, up from 61.2% in 2014.

By metro, Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, West Virginia; and Green Bay, Wisconsin, stand out. In many of these markets, construction wages have risen while home prices remain relatively attainable.

Transportation & Public Safety: 58.1%

Workers in transportation and public safety occupations—including truck drivers, police officers, and firefighters—have a national homeownership rate of 58.1%, down from 59.3% in 2014.

However, several metros stand out, including Asheville, North Carolina; Youngstown, Ohio; and North Port, Florida, where relatively affordable housing markets support ownership among these workers.

Service Occupations: 45.5%

Workers in service occupations—such as hospitality workers, food service employees, and personal care providers—have the lowest homeownership rate nationally at 45.5%; however, they also saw the largest improvement since 2014, rising from 42.7%.

Several metros show higher ownership rates for service workers than the national average. Salisbury, Maryland; Ogden, Utah; and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, stand out, suggesting that in some more affordable markets, these workers are able to transition into homeownership.

Have the Occupations With the Highest Homeownership Rates Changed Over Time?

At the national level, not much. But locally, quite a lot.

The data shows that in 61.4% of metro areas across the country, the occupations with the highest homeownership rates differ from those a decade ago. This means that in a majority of local housing markets, the profile of the typical homeowner has shifted.

In Columbus, Georgia, education and social service professionals now have the highest homeownership rate, replacing healthcare workers (who led the market a decade ago). In Ann Arbor, Michigan, management and business professionals moved to the top, overtaking skilled trade workers. In Reno, Nevada, management occupations also now lead homeownership rates, surpassing education and social service workers who previously held that position. Other markets show different shifts. In Ocala, Florida, STEM and technical workers now have the highest homeownership rate, replacing healthcare workers. Meanwhile, in Savannah, Georgia, STEM occupations also moved to the top, replacing management and business professionals.

The big takeaway from the data is that this is not just a regional story, but an affordability story. You can see strong homeownership rates across the country, from the Midwest to the South and parts of Florida. But, what many of these metros have in common is that home prices remain more closely aligned with local incomes, allowing people across a variety of occupations—from teachers to construction workers—to become homeowners.