The median value of

a home in the United

States in 2000 was

$119,600, according

to findings in Census

2000.1 This value

represented an

increase of 18 percent over the 1990

value of $101,100,

after adjusting for

inflation.2 Median

value means that

one-half of all homes

were worth more

and one-half were

worth less. These

values refer to specified owner-occupied

housing units; that

is, owner-occupied

single-family homes

on less than 10 acres

without a business

or medical office on

the property. In

2000, 55.2 million of the country’s 

115.9 million housing units were this

type. The value of a home is the owner’s

estimate of what the house and lot

would sell for if it were on the market.

The specific question, reproduced in

Figure 1, was asked at owner-occupied

housing units and units that were being

bought or were vacant and for sale at

the time of enumeration.

This report, part of a series that presents

population and housing data collected by

Census 2000, presents data on median

home values in the United States, including regions, states, counties, and places

with populations of 100,000 or more. It

also includes home values for householders by age, race, and Hispanic origin, as well as other findings.

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S.Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued May 2003

C2KBR-20

Home Values: 2000 

Census 2000 Brief

By 

Figure 1. Robert L. Bennefield

Reproduction of the Question on Housing 

Value From Census 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 questionnaire.

What is the value of this property; that is,

how much do you think this house and lot,

apartment, or mobile home and lot would sell

for if it were for sale?

Less than $10,000

$10,000 to $14,999

$15,000 to $19,999

$20,000 to $24,999

$25,000 to $29,999

$30,000 to $34,999

$35,000 to $39,999

$40,000 to $49,999

$50,000 to $59,999

$60,000 to $69,999

$70,000 to $79,999

$80,000 to $89,999

$90,000 to $99,999

$100,000 to $124,999

$125,000 to $149,999

$150,000 to $174,999

$175,000 to $199,999

$200,000 to $249,999

$250,000 to $299,999

$300,000 to $399,999

$400,000 to $499,999

$500,000 to $749,999

$750,000 to $999,999

$1,000,000 or more

51

1 The text of this report discusses data for the

United States, including the 50 states and the

District of Columbia. Data for the Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico are shown in Table 1 and Figure 5. 2 The estimates in this report are based on

responses from a sample of the population. As with

all surveys, estimates may vary from the actual values because of sampling variation or other factors.

All statements made in this report have undergone

statistical testing and are significant at the 90-percent confidence level, unless otherwise noted.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

Data collection methods

changed between 1990 and

2000.

In Census 2000, only a sample of

households were asked the home

value question, whereas all households were asked that question in

1990. The 2000 question was

slightly different from the one used

in 1990. The wording was

changed to replace “condominium

unit” with “apartment” and to

include “mobile home.” Some of

the value categories were collapsed while others were added,

allowing respondents to indicate

homes valued for $1 million or

more. The highest value category

in 1990 was $500,000 or more.

Median home values more

than doubled between 1950

and 2000.

The median value of single-family

homes in the United States rose

from $44,600 in 1950 to $119,600

in 2000, after adjusting for inflation.3 Median home value

increased in each decade of this

50-year period, rising fastest 

(43 percent) in the 1970s and

slowest (8.2 percent) in the 1980s.

The 18-percent increase in the

1990s was higher than the rate of

increase in the 1960s (11 percent)

and the 1980s (8.2 percent) but

below the rate of increase in the

1950s (31 percent) and the 1970s

(43 percent). Figure 2 presents

median home values for each census since 1950.

Homeowners aged 45 to 54

lived in the highest-priced

homes.

The median value for single-family

homes was lowest ($84,700) for

homeowners under age 25, as

shown in Figure 3. Median values

rose with age of homeowner, peaking for homeowners 45 to 54 at

$131,100. After that, median

home values fell to $124,000 at 55

to 64, $108,300 at 65 to 74, and

$95,500 at 75 and over.

Figure 2.

Median Home Values: 1950 to 2000 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Population and Housing, decennial publications.

50.5

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

$44,600

$119,600

$101,100 $93,400

$65,300 $58,600

(For specified owner-occupied single-family housing units. 

Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, 

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see 

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/docsf3.pdf)

3 Median value estimates for 1950 to

1990 were adjusted to 2000 dollars using

the appropriate CPI-U-RS factors.

Figure 3.

Median Home Value by Age of Householder: 2000 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 special tabulation.

50.5

75 and

over

15 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 to 74

(For specified owner-occupied single-family housing units. 

Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, 

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see 

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/docsf3.pdf)

$95,500 

$84,700

$113,800

$128,800 $131,100

$124,000

$108,300
The median value of homes

owned by Asian householders

was more than 50 percent

higher than the national

median.

Census 2000 allowed respondents

to choose more than one race. With

the exception of the Two or more

races group, all race groups discussed in this report refer to people

who indicated only one racial identity among the six major categories:

White, Black or African American,

American Indian and Alaska Native,

Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander, and Some other

race.4 The use of the single-race

population in this report does not

imply that it is the preferred

method of presenting or analyzing

data. The Census Bureau uses a

variety of approaches.5

The median value of single-family

homes for householders who identified their race as Asian was

$199,300—more than 50 percent

higher than the national median

home value (see Figure 4). A

large proportion of these households (45 percent) were located in

Hawaii or California, states that

recorded the highest median home

values. Householders who were

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific

Islander had a median home value

of $160,500, also considerably

higher than the national estimate.

In contrast, homeowners who were

Black or African American or who

were American Indian and Alaska

Native had a median value of

about $81,000—one-third below

the national median. Among

homeowners who were nonHispanic White the median value

for a single-family home was

$123,400—higher than the national estimate—while among Hispanic

or Latino homeowners it was

$105,600—below the national

U.S. Census Bureau 3

Figure 4.

Median Home Value by Race and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 2000 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.

White alone,

not Hispanic

or Latino

Hispanic

or Latino

Two or

more races

Some other

race

alone

Native

Hawaiian and

Other Pacific

Islander alone

American Asian alone

Indian and

Alaska Native

alone

Black or

African

American

alone

White

alone

United States

(For specified owner-occupied single-family housing units. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality 

protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/docsf3.pdf)

$123,400 $119,600 $122,800

$80,600 $81,000

$199,300

$160,500

$101,700

$124,400

$105,600

4 For further information on each of the

six major race groups and the Two races population, see reports from the Census 2000

Brief series (C2KBR/01), available on the

Census 2000 Web site at www.census.gov/

population/www/cen2000/briefs.html.

5 This report draws heavily on Summary

File 3, a Census 2000 product that can be

accessed through American FactFinder, available from the Census Bureau’s Web site,

www.census.gov. Information on people

who reported more than one race, such as

“White and American Indian and Alaska

Native” or “Asian and Black or African

American,” is forthcoming in Summary File

4, which will also be available through

American FactFinder in 2003. About 2.6

percent of people reported more than one

race.
estimate.6 The median home value

for people who reported two or

more races was $124,400.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

OF HOME VALUES

Home values were highest in

the West.

Median values for a single-family

home were higher in the West

($171,000) than in the Northeast

($139,400), the Midwest

($105,500), or the South ($96,300)

(see Table 1).7 In the Northeast,

the median value dropped between

1990 and 2000 by 12 percent, but

home values increased in the other

regions. The increase was greatest

in the Midwest (up 33 percent), followed by the South (up 15 percent)

and the West (up 6 percent).

Hawaii continued to have the

highest median home value

among states.

In Census 2000, as in 1990,

Hawaii recorded the highest median value for single-family homes

among states ($272,700)—more

than twice the national median.

California followed Hawaii with a

median value of $211,500 for single-family homes. Six additional

states had median home values

above $150,000: Massachusetts

($185,700), New Jersey

($170,800), Washington

($168,300), Connecticut

($166,900), Colorado ($166,600),

and Oregon ($152,100). The

District of Columbia had a similar

median value at $157,200.

Colorado was the only noncoastal

state with a median home value

above $150,000. With the exception of Maine and South Carolina,

all of the states with median home

values below $100,000 were adjacent and located near the middle

or interior of the country (see

Figure 5). The lowest median

home value among the states was

$70,700, recorded in Oklahoma—

more than one-third below the

national estimate. Four additional

states in the South and Midwest

had median home values below

$75,000: Mississippi ($71,400),

Arkansas and West Virginia (both at

$72,800), and North Dakota

($74,400).8

Between 1990 and 2000, median

home values decreased in 11

states and the District of Columbia,

with Connecticut showing the

sharpest drop, of 27 percent.9 In

addition to Connecticut, median

values fell by more than 10 percent in eight states: Rhode Island

(down 22 percent), New Hampshire

(down 19 percent), New Jersey

(down 18 percent), California

(down 15 percent), Hawaii (down

13 percent), Maine and New York

(both down 12 percent), and

Massachusetts (down 11 percent).

In contrast, Oregon had the

sharpest rise in median home

value, up 78 percent. Other states

in the West with more than a 

50-percent increase in median

home value were Utah (up 66 percent) and Colorado (up 58 percent). Oregon and Utah went from

far under the national median in

1990 to well above it in 2000.

Minnesota was the only other state

to follow this path, although its

gain was more modest. Maine and

Vermont went in the opposite

direction, from above the national

median in 1990 to under by 2000.

See Table 1 for values for the

United States, regions, states, and

Puerto Rico.

Counties with more expensive

homes were primarily located

in major metropolitan areas.

A band of counties with median

single-family home values in

excess of $150,000 extended

almost continuously from the

District of Columbia and its suburbs up the east coast to Boston,

Massachusetts, and its suburbs

(see Figure 5). Another band of

homes in this price range extended

along the California coast. Other

counties where median single-family home values exceeded

$150,000 clustered around Denver

and in other Rocky Mountain areas

of Colorado and in large metropolitan areas throughout the country.

Counties with exceptionally high

single-family median home values

or those with values above

$500,000 were New York County,

New York (the borough of

Manhattan), with a median value in

excess of $1 million; Pitkin County,

Colorado ($750,000); Nantucket,

Massachusetts ($577,500); and

Marin County, California

($514,600).10 Counties where

4 U.S. Census Bureau

6 Because Hispanics may be of any race,

data in this report for Hispanics overlap with

data for racial groups. Based on Census

2000 sample data, the proportion Hispanic

was 8.0 percent for Whites, 1.9 percent for

Blacks, 14.6 percent for American Indians

and Alaska Natives, 1.0 percent for Asians,

9.5 percent for Pacific Islanders, 97.1 percent for those reporting Some other race,

and 31.1 percent for those reporting Two or

more races. 7 The Northeast region includes the

states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,

New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Midwest region includes the states of

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North

Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The South region includes the states of

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida,

Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,

Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South

Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West

Virginia, and the District of Columbia, a state

equivalent. The West region includes the

states of Alaska, Arizona, California,

Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,

New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and

Wyoming.

8 Because of sampling error, the estimates for geographic areas in this report

may not be significantly different from one

another or from estimates for other geographic areas not in this report. 9 The decrease for the District of

Columbia was not statistically significant.

10 The single-family homes in Manhattan

represented a very small proportion (1.8 percent) of all owner-occupied housing in

Manhattan.
U.S. Census Bureau 5

Table 1.

Median Home Values for the United States, Regions, and States, and for Puerto Rico:

1990 and 2000

(For specified owner-occupied housing units. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error,

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Area

1990 2000

Median

percent

change,

1990 to 2000

Specified

owner-occupied

housing units

Median

(dollars)

Median*

(dollars)

Specified

owner-occupied

housing units

Median

(dollars)

United States ......... 44,918,000 79,100 101,100 55,212,108 119,600 18.3

Region

Northeast.................. 8,762,882 124,400 158,900 10,009,448 139,400 –12.3

Midwest ................... 11,794,663 62,300 79,600 14,037,418 105,500 32.5

South . . . .................. 15,595,606 65,800 84,100 19,964,932 96,300 14.5

West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,764,849 126,200 161,200 11,200,310 171,000 6.1

State

Alabama . . . ............... 753,827 53,700 68,600 918,570 85,100 24.1

Alaska . ................... 77,527 94,400 120,600 105,620 144,200 19.6

Arizona . .................. 668,718 80,100 102,300 1,032,103 121,300 18.6

Arkansas .................. 427,676 46,300 59,200 513,483 72,800 23.0

California.................. 4,690,264 195,500 249,800 5,527,618 211,500 –15.3

Colorado .................. 637,629 82,700 105,700 903,259 166,600 57.6

Connecticut................ 643,500 177,800 227,200 728,244 166,900 –26.5

Delaware.................. 137,526 100,100 127,900 177,323 130,400 2.0

District of Columbia......... 71,532 123,900 158,300 76,289 157,200 (NS)

Florida . . .................. 2,378,207 77,100 98,500 3,242,202 105,500 7.1

Georgia ................... 1,138,775 71,300 91,100 1,596,408 111,200 22.1

Hawaii .................... 144,431 245,300 313,400 173,861 272,700 –13.0

Idaho ..................... 177,333 58,200 74,400 255,077 106,300 42.9

Illinois. . . .................. 2,084,708 80,900 103,400 2,470,338 130,800 26.5

Indiana. . . ................. 1,137,766 53,900 68,900 1,378,878 94,300 36.9

Iowa ...................... 566,559 45,900 58,600 665,442 82,500 40.8

Kansas.................... 500,628 52,200 66,700 581,960 83,500 25.2

Kentucky .................. 662,174 50,500 64,500 806,461 86,700 34.4

Louisiana.................. 733,914 58,500 74,700 864,810 85,000 13.8

Maine..................... 214,663 87,400 111,700 254,866 98,700 –11.6

Maryland .................. 970,864 116,500 148,800 1,178,779 146,000 –1.9

Massachusetts ............. 1,004,573 162,800 208,000 1,187,871 185,700 –10.7

Michigan .................. 1,916,143 60,600 77,400 2,269,175 115,600 49.4

Minnesota ................. 894,345 74,000 94,500 1,117,489 122,400 29.5

Mississippi. ................ 441,821 45,600 58,300 532,291 71,400 22.5

Missouri................... 1,005,407 59,800 76,400 1,188,442 89,900 17.7

Montana .................. 132,419 56,600 72,300 165,397 99,500 37.6

Nebraska.................. 314,363 50,400 64,400 370,495 88,000 36.6

Nevada ................... 183,816 95,700 122,300 363,321 142,000 16.1

New Hampshire ............ 199,358 129,400 165,300 249,345 133,300 –19.4

New Jersey. . . ............. 1,466,270 162,300 207,400 1,701,732 170,800 –17.6

New Mexico ............... 262,309 70,100 89,600 339,888 108,100 20.6

New York. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,387,606 131,600 168,100 2,689,728 148,700 –11.5

North Carolina . . ........... 1,217,975 65,800 84,100 1,615,713 108,300 28.8

North Dakota .............. 103,702 50,800 64,900 122,078 74,400 14.6

Ohio ...................... 2,241,277 63,500 81,100 2,613,123 103,700 27.9

Oklahoma ................. 616,290 48,100 61,500 699,452 70,700 15.0

Oregon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511,829 67,100 85,700 653,869 152,100 77.5

Pennsylvania .............. 2,581,261 69,700 89,100 2,889,484 97,000 8.9

Rhode Island .............. 176,494 133,500 170,600 202,216 133,000 –22.0

South Carolina ............. 615,434 61,100 78,100 783,909 94,900 21.5

South Dakota . . . ........... 113,057 45,200 57,700 137,531 79,600 38.0

Tennessee................. 938,366 58,400 74,600 1,205,931 93,000 24.7

Texas . . . .................. 2,949,089 59,600 76,100 3,849,585 82,500 8.4

Utah ...................... 303,724 68,900 88,000 427,244 146,100 66.0

Vermont................... 89,157 95,500 122,000 105,962 111,500 –8.6

Virginia.................... 1,192,077 91,000 116,300 1,510,798 125,400 7.8

Washington................ 896,436 93,400 119,300 1,157,462 168,300 41.1

West Virginia . ............. 350,059 47,900 61,200 392,928 72,800 19.0

Wisconsin ................. 916,708 62,500 79,900 1,122,467 112,200 40.4

Wyoming . ................. 78,414 61,600 78,700 95,591 96,600 22.7

Puerto Rico ............... 669,302 36,200 46,300 817,927 75,100 62.2

*Adjusted to 2000 dollars, using CPI-U-RS factor 1.277636.

NS: Not significantly different from zero at the 90-percent confidence level.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3 and 1990 census Summary File 1.
6 U.S. Census Bureau $150,000 or more $119,600 to $149,999 $100,000 to $119,599 Less than $99,999 Home Values: 2000 Figure 5. 0 100Miles 0 100Miles 0 100Miles 0 100Miles U.S. median $119,600 U.S. median $119,600 $150,000 or more $119,600 to 149,999 $100,000 to 119,599 $75,000 to 99,999 Less than $75,000 Fewer than 300 owner-occupied units (Data not shown) Median value for owner-occupied single-family housing units by county Median value for owner-occupied single-family housing units by state Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3. American Factfinder at factfinder.census.gov provides census data and mapping tools. (Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
median home values exceeded

$150,000 represented 6.2 percent

of all counties. In nearly one-half

of counties (49 percent) median

single-family home values fell

below $75,000. Most of these

counties were located in the Great

Plains extending from North

Dakota to Texas and in the nonmetropolitan South. For example,

five counties with very low median

single-family home values were

King County, Texas ($13,800),

McPherson County, South Dakota

($20,100); Corson County, South

Dakota ($21,600); Kenedy County,

Texas, and Boyd County, Nebraska

(both at $22,500). In three counties the median home value

equaled the national median of

$119,600. They were Buncombe

County, North Carolina, York

County, South Carolina, and

Whitman County, Washington.

Sunnyvale, California had the

highest median home value

among places of 100,000 or

more.

Among places with 100,000 people

or more, Sunnyvale, California

recorded the highest median singlefamily home value, $495,200—more

than four times the national median

(see Table 2).11 The remaining nine

places had median single-family

home values in the $300,000 to

$400,000 range: Cambridge,

Massachusetts ($398,500); Santa

Clara, California ($396,500); San

Francisco, California ($396,400); San

Jose, California ($394,000);

Honolulu, Hawaii ($386,700);

Berkeley, California ($380,200);

Fremont, California ($363,400);

Stamford, Connecticut ($362,300);

and Daly City, California

($335,000).12 Seven of the ten

places with the highest single-family

home values were in the San

Francisco Bay area and two were in

the New England area.

U.S. Census Bureau 7

Table 2.

Ten Places of 100,000 People or More With the Highest

Median Home Values: 2000

(For specified owner-occupied housing units. Data based on sample. For information on

confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Area

Specified

owner-occupied

single-family

housing units

Median value

(dollars)

90-percent

confidence

interval

United States ......... 55,212,108 119,600 119,500 - 119,700

Place

Sunnyvale, CA ............. 19,314 495,200 487,700 - 502,700

Cambridge, MA ............ 4,453 398,500 377,200 - 419,800

Santa Clara, CA............ 15,831 396,500 391,300 - 401,700

San Francisco, CA ......... 79,545 396,400 393,300 - 399,500

San Jose, CA.............. 146,892 394,000 392,000 - 396,000

Honolulu, HI (CDP)* ........ 40,162 386,700 383,000 - 390,400

Berkeley, CA............... 15,869 380,200 372,100 - 388,300

Fremont, CA............... 40,429 363,400 359,900 - 366,900

Stamford, CT .............. 18,034 362,300 355,000 - 369,600

Daly City, CA . . ............ 15,803 335,000 331,100 - 338,900

*Honolulu is a Census Designated Place (CDP). By agreement with the state of Hawaii, the Census

Bureau does not show data separately for the city of Honolulu, which is coextensive with Honolulu

county.

Note: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from

one another or from estimates for other geographic areas not listed in this table.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.

11 Census 2000 shows 245 places in the

United States with 100,000 or more population. They include 238 incorporated places

(including 4 city-county consolidations) and

7 census designated places that are not

legally incorporated. For a list of these

places by state, see www.census.gov/

population/www/cen2000phc-t6.html. 12 See footnote 8.

Table 3.

Ten Places of 100,000 People or More With the Lowest

Median Home Values: 2000

(For specified owner-occupied housing units. Data based on sample. For information on

confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Area

Specified

owner-occupied

single-family

housing units

Median value

(dollars)

90-percent

confidence

interval

United States ......... 55,212,108 119,600 119,500 - 119,700

Place

Flint, MI ................... 26,410 49,700 48,900 - 50,500

Kansas City, KS............ 31,461 52,500 51,600 - 53,400

Brownsville, TX ............ 20,258 53,000 51,500 - 54,500

Waco, TX ................. 18,226 53,300 51,500 - 55,100

Gary, IN . . ................. 18,997 53,400 52,200 - 54,600

Buffalo, NY . ............... 33,030 59,300 58,600 - 60,000

Philadelphia, PA............ 315,437 59,700 59,400 - 60,000

Pittsburgh, PA ............. 66,568 59,700 59,300 - 60,100

Abilene, TX................ 22,578 61,100 59,700 - 62,500

Rochester, NY ............. 30,910 61,300 60,700 - 61,900

Note: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from

one another or from estimates for other geographic areas not listed in this table.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
Flint, Michigan recorded the

lowest median home value

among places of 100,000 or

more.

The lowest median single-family

home value among large cities

(places with 100,000 people or

more) was recorded in Flint,

Michigan ($49,700)—more than 

50 percent below the national

median (see Table 3). These ten

lowest median single-family home

values ranged from about $50,000

to $60,000. The other nine places

were Kansas City, Kansas

($52,500); Brownsville, Texas

($53,000); Waco, Texas ($53,300);

Gary, Indiana ($53,400); Buffalo,

New York ($59,300); Philadelphia

and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (both

at $59,700); Abilene, Texas

($61,100); and Rochester, New

York ($61,300).13

Cambridge, Massachusetts had

the highest percentage of

homes valued at $1 million or

more.

The city with the highest percentage of single-family homes valued

at $1 million or more was

Cambridge, Massachusetts with 

12 percent (see Table 4). San

Francisco, California followed

Cambridge with 7.0 percent and

Pasadena, California was next with

4.7 percent. Los Angeles,

California had 3.8 percent, while

the remaining six cities—Fort

Lauderdale, Florida, Berkeley,

California, Stamford, Connecticut,

Honolulu, Hawaii, Atlanta, Georgia,

and Fremont, California—all had

about 3 percent. Five of the ten

places were in California and two

were in the New England area.

None of the ten places was in the

Midwest.14

8 U.S. Census Bureau

13 See footnote 8. 14 See footnote 8.

Table 4.

Ten Places of 100,000 People or More With the Highest

Percentage of Home Values of $1 Million or More: 2000

(For specified owner-occupied housing units. Data based on sample. For information on

confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Area

Specified

owner-occupied

single-family

housing units

Homes valued at

$1 million or more 90-percent

confidence

Number Percent interval

United States ......... 55,212,108 313,759 0.6 0.6 - 0.6

Place

Cambridge, MA ............ 4,453 516 11.6 9.5 - 13.7

San Francisco, CA ......... 79,545 5,547 7.0 6.6 - 7.4

Pasadena, CA ............. 19,318 912 4.7 4.1 - 5.4

Los Angeles, CA ........... 412,804 15,501 3.8 3.6 - 3.9

Fort Lauderdale, FL ........ 22,871 765 3.3 2.8 - 3.9

Berkeley, CA............... 15,869 510 3.2 2.6 - 3.8

Stamford, CT .............. 18,034 485 2.7 2.2 - 3.2

Honolulu, HI (CDP)* ........ 40,162 1,048 2.6 2.3 - 3.0

Atlanta, GA ................ 61,208 1,597 2.6 2.3 - 2.9

Fremont, CA............... 40,429 1,052 2.6 2.3 - 3.0

*Honolulu is a Census Designated Place (CDP). By agreement with the state of Hawaii, the Census

Bureau does not show data separately for the city of Honolulu, which is coextensive with Honolulu

county.

Note: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from

one another or from estimates for other geographic areas not listed in this table.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.

Figure 6.

Median Home Value by Type of Structure: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 special tabulation.

2 or more Mobile homes

units

1 attached

unit

1 detached

unit

All owneroccupied housing

(For all owner-occupied housing units. Data based on sample. 

For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see 

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/docsf3.pdf)

$31,200 

$111,800

$121,100

$112,500 $116,600
ADDITIONAL FINDINGS

What was the median value of

mortgaged homes versus

nonmortgaged homes?

Of all 55.2 million specified owneroccupied homes in the United

States, 70 percent were mortgaged

and 30 percent were nonmortgaged. The median value of

single-family homes with a mortgage ($128,800) was much higher

than the median value of those

without a mortgage ($96,900).

What were the median values

for homes within different

structures?

Among all owner-occupied housing

(69.8 million), not just specified, the

median home value was $111,800.

For single-family detached homes

(56.3 million) the median value was

$121,100 (see Figure 6). This estimate was significantly higher than

the $112,500 for single-family

attached units, which numbered 

3.8 million and included townhouses, row houses, or duplexes.

The median value for owner-occupied homes in buildings of two or

more units (3.8 million) was

$116,600. Finally, for mobile

homes (5.9 million) it was $31,200.

What were the median values

for new homes and old homes?

Of all owner-occupied homes, the

7.7 million new homes or those

built between 1995 and March

2000 (median value $146,300)

were much more expensive than

the 24 million old homes or those

built before 1960 (median value

$95,600). As shown in Figure 7,

the newer the home the higher the

median value, except for the 

12.3 million built in the 1970s

($106,800), which was lower than

the 9.1 million homes built during

the 1960s ($108,500).

WHY CENSUS 2000 ASKED

ABOUT HOME VALUE 

The value of home and property is

an important measure of neighborhood quality, housing affordability,

and wealth. These data provide

socioeconomic information not

captured by household income and

comparative information on the

state of local housing markets.

The federal government uses this

information for the development of

transportation plans, policies, and

programs. It uses this information

in preparing the value of housing

services for the National Income

and Product Accounts. Value data

are incorporated in annual reports

that the President sends to the

Congress about housing production, occupancy, and tenure, and in

analyses of housing needs.

Accuracy of the Estimates 

The data contained in this report

are based on the sample of households who responded to the Census

2000 long form. Nationally,

approximately one out of every six

housing units was included in this

sample. As a result, the sample

estimates may differ somewhat

from the 100-percent figures that

would have been obtained if all

housing units, people within those

housing units, and people living in

group quarters had been enumerated using the same questionnaires,

instructions, enumerators, and so

forth. The sample estimates also

differ from the values that would

have been obtained from different

samples of housing units, people

within those housing units, and

people living in group quarters.

The deviation of a sample estimate

from the average of all possible

samples is called the sampling

error. 

In addition to the variability that

arises from the sampling

U.S. Census Bureau 9

Figure 7.

Median Home Value by Year Structure Built: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 special tabulation.

50.5

1995 to

March 2000

1990 to

1994

1980 to

1989

1970 to

1979

1960 to

1969

1959 or

earlier

(For all owner-occupied housing units. Data based on sample. 

For information on confidentiality protection, 

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see 

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/docsf3.pdf)

$95,600 

$146,300 $140,900

$117,700

$108,500 $106,800
procedures, both sample data and

100-percent data are subject to

nonsampling error. Nonsampling

error may be introduced during

any of the various complex operations used to collect and process

data. Such errors may include:

not enumerating every household

or every person in the population,

failing to obtain all required information from the respondents,

obtaining incorrect or inconsistent

information, and recording information incorrectly. In addition,

errors can occur during the field

review of the enumerators’ work,

during clerical handling of the census questionnaires, or during the

electronic processing of the questionnaires.

Nonsampling error may affect the

data in two ways: (1) errors that are

introduced randomly will increase

the variability of the data and,

therefore, should be reflected in the

standard errors; and (2) errors that

tend to be consistent in one direction will bias both sample and 100-

percent data in that direction. For

example, if respondents consistently tend to underreport their

incomes, then the resulting estimates of households or families by

income category will tend to be

understated for the higher income

categories and overstated for the

lower income categories. Such

biases are not reflected in the standard errors.

While it is impossible to completely

eliminate error from an operation

as large and complex as the decennial census, the Census Bureau

attempts to control the sources of

such error during the data collection and processing operations.

The primary sources of error and

the programs instituted to control

error in Census 2000 are described

in detail in Summary File 3

Technical Documentation under

Chapter 8, “Accuracy of the Data,”

located at www.census.gov/

prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf.

All statements in this Census 2000

Brief have undergone statistical

testing and all comparisons are

significant at the 90-percent confidence level, unless otherwise

noted. The estimates in tables,

maps, and other figures may vary

from actual values due to sampling

and nonsampling errors. As a

result, estimates in one category

may not be significantly different

from estimates assigned to a different category. Further information on the accuracy of the data is

located at www.census.gov/

prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf. For

further information on the computation and use of standard errors,

contact the Decennial Statistical

Studies Division at 301-763-4242. 

For More Information

The Census 2000 Summary File 3

data are available from the

American Factfinder on the Internet

(factfinder.census.gov). They were

released on a state-by-state basis

during 2002. For information on

confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, sampling error, and

definitions, also see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/

doc/sf3.pdf or contact the

Customer Services Center at 

301-763-INFO (4636).

Information on population and

housing topics is presented in the

Census 2000 Brief series, located

on the Census Bureau’s Web site at

www.census.gov/population/www/

cen2000/briefs.html. This series,

which will be completed in 2003,

presents information on race,

Hispanic origin, age, sex, household type, housing tenure, and

social, economic, and housing

characteristics, such as ancestry,

income, and housing costs.

For additional information on housing, including reports and survey

data, visit the Census Bureau’s

Internet site at www.census.gov/

hhes/www/housing.html. To find

information about the availability

of data products, including reports,

CD-ROMs, and DVDs, call the

Customer Services Center at 

301-763-INFO (4636), or e-mail 

webmaster@census.gov.

10 U.S. Census Bureau