Buying a new home is an exciting time. It’s a time of change that brings new opportunities and adventures. While some homeowners are more eager to embrace change, others prefer the creature comfort of familiarity like a cozy, old sweater.
In other words, they’ve planted their roots and haven’t moved in decades.
These tenured homeowners have lived in the same home for 20, 25, 30 or more years, but which cities are these deeply-rooted homeowners living in? We were curious to find out, so we analyzed Census Bureau housing data to determine which cities have the largest number of homeowners who have lived in the same home for 30 years or more.
Staying Put
When it comes to homeowners who have lived in the same home for more than 30 years, Detroit ranks No. 1. In fact, nearly 40 percent of Detroit homeowners haven’t moved in three decades.
We have to travel more than halfway across the country to find the No. 2 city on our list, which is Daly City, California. Then, we hop back to the Midwest for the No. 3 city: Cleveland, Ohio. About 35 percent of homeowners who live in the “Rock and Roll Capital of the World” haven’t moved in 30 years or more. Just to put that into perspective, Poision’s “Every Rose Has its Thorn” was the top Billboard rock single 30 years ago (not to be overshadowed by Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up,” which was also a top single in 1989).
Regional Trends
When it comes to planting roots, San Francisco area homeowners have some of the deepest in the country. The Bay Area is home to the nation’s most tenured homeowners with both Daly City and Berkeley ranking No. 1 and No. 4, respectively. Daly City is conveniently located about 10 miles outside of San Francisco, and 37 percent of its homeowners have lived in the same home for at least 30 years or more. Meanwhile, 35 percent of Berkeley homeowners have been staying put for the same amount of time.
Further south, San Mateo ranks No. 32 with 28 percent and San Francisco ranks No. 27 with 28.6 percent. Overall, California makes the most appearances on our list, with six cities in our top 30 rankings. But who can really blame homeowners for not moving when they have all of that beautiful California sunshine to soak in?
Newest Homeowners
Last year, the Census Bureau listed Frisco, Texas as the fastest-growing city in the nation, so it might not come as a surprise to see that the Dallas suburb tops our list of cities with the least tenured homeowners. In fact, nearly half (43 percent) of Frisco homeowners moved into their homes within the last 10 years.
Twenty minutes east of Frisco, another fast-growing Texas city makes an appearance on our list. McKinney, Texas ranks No. 3 with 42 percent of its homes occupied by homeowners who have moved in within the last 10 years. Homeowners also seem to be flocking to Gilbert, Arizona which is No. 2 on our list. Since 1980, Gilbert’s population has grown from 5,700 residents to more than 200,000.
The thought of moving out of a home you’ve lived in for decades can be intimidating, but with the right tools, reliable research, and expert specialists, our resources can make the process smooth and easy. If you’re a tenured homeowner looking for a new home and a new adventure, check out our listings of active adult communities.
Methodology
Using housing data from the Census Bureau, we analyzed more than 300 cities with a population of 100,000 or more to determine which cities are home to the most tenured homeowners in America. Specifically, we looked at owner-occupied homes where homeowners have lived for at least 30 years or more.
Conversely, we also analyzed cities with the least tenured homeowners, or homeowners who moved into their homes within the last 10 years. We used the same methodology to determine the most and least tenured homeowners within the top 20 largest metro cities. We also analyzed median household income and median property value in each city via Census Bureau data.
