Financial Self-Sufficiency
Homeownership Rate


Homeownership Rate

Click on arrows to view legend and click a point on map to view data. Zoom in (+ sign) to view view localities and census tracts.

What does this measure?

The percentage of all occupied housing units (not vacant) that are owner-occupied (not rented).

Why is this important?

Homeownership is an important factor for neighborhood stability and civic participation. A home is a vital financial asset for a family and an investment in both the local neighborhood and surrounding community.

How is our county doing?

In 2017-21, the homeownership rate in Essex County was 64%, level since 2000, on par with the national rate, and lower than the state rate. Although the rate in Essex County has remained steady overall, homeownership rates varied greatly among local communities. The lowest rate was in Lawrence (29%) followed by Lynn (48%) and Salem (52%). The highest rates were in Boxford (96%), West Newbury (93%) and Groveland and Middleton (both 92%).

How do we compare to similar counties?

Essex County's homeownership rate in 2017-21 was similar with Middlesex, MA and Westchester, NY, but lower than Lake, IL, at 74%. Similar to Essex, rates in Middlesex and Westchester changed little since 2000, while Lake, IL dropped 4 percentage points.

Notes about the data

Multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas.

Data for this indicator are released annually in December.

Homeownership Rate
20002007-112012-162017-21
Essex County, MA64%65%63%64%
Amesbury73%69%67%
Beverly60%63%60%60%
Gloucester60%65%64%63%
Haverhill60%64%60%58%
Lawrence32%32%28%29%
Lynn46%48%44%48%
Methuen72%74%71%73%
Newburyport67%71%74%77%
Peabody71%65%65%66%
Salem49%52%48%52%
Andover79%81%80%81%
Boxford97%98%98%96%
Danvers77%72%69%71%
Essex70%68%78%81%
Georgetown86%85%84%78%
Groveland86%87%82%92%
Hamilton82%74%83%82%
Ipswich73%77%73%75%
Lynnfield94%92%85%85%
Manchester71%68%69%76%
Marblehead75%81%79%81%
Merrimac83%82%87%80%
Middleton86%88%85%92%
Nahant68%70%68%83%
Newbury81%77%85%90%
North Andover73%77%73%71%
Rockport64%72%69%68%
Rowley77%80%83%80%
Salisbury69%76%75%81%
Saugus80%78%79%78%
Swampscott77%78%77%73%
Topsfield89%93%92%88%
Wenham85%92%88%87%
West Newbury93%87%95%93%
Middlesex County, MA62%63%62%62%
Lake County, IL78%78%73%74%
Westchester County, NY60%62%61%62%
Massachusetts62%64%62%62%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey.




Number of Owner-occupied Housing Units
20002007-112012-162017-21
Essex County, MA175,022184,985182,306195,868
Amesbury4,7674,8314,918
Beverly9,4569,6639,74810,086
Gloucester7,5247,9858,1278,261
Haverhill13,83815,49714,17215,215
Lawrence7,8698,7857,3358,807
Lynn15,31516,31314,22617,431
Methuen11,89212,87212,32213,771
Newburyport5,0265,3785,7345,806
Peabody13,23113,67913,94914,958
Salem8,5949,1538,61610,183
Andover8,8919,6809,72710,774
Boxford2,4962,6032,6512,761
Danvers7,3707,4087,3137,807
Essex9189361,1361,083
Georgetown2,2162,3772,6332,508
Groveland1,7762,0671,8612,320
Hamilton2,1881,8742,2742,102
Ipswich3,8574,2034,0784,176
Lynnfield3,9483,7543,7693,874
Manchester1,5361,3961,4551,575
Marblehead6,4346,3856,5116,552
Merrimac1,8502,0122,2912,066
Middleton1,9742,3022,4302,862
Nahant1,1101,0721,0941,395
Newbury2,0251,9382,3742,274
North Andover7,0737,8417,9817,795
Rockport2,2442,1742,2282,269
Rowley1,5091,7941,8231,862
Salisbury2,1142,5722,7413,150
Saugus7,9427,7347,9278,211
Swampscott4,3784,3634,1554,473
Topsfield1,8671,8962,0611,939
Wenham1,0961,2071,2211,128
West Newbury1,2941,3051,5121,476
Middlesex County, MA346,591366,002366,548385,336
Lake County, IL168,293186,237178,807186,542
Westchester County, NY202,765214,765210,004224,531
Massachusetts1,508,2481,604,4731,588,7431,694,407

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey.




INDICATORS TREND | ESSEX COUNTY