Data / Rankings / Housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US) / US states

US states by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US)

Maine had the highest housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US) of 51 states in 2021, at 22.6%. Washington had the lowest, at 7.5%. The median was 11.5% and the figure for the United States was 11.2%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest22.6Maine
Lowest7.5Washington
Median11.551 states
United States11.2History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 16.5 %Alaska: 19.7 %Arizona: 12.2 %Arkansas: 14.9 %California: 7.8 %Colorado: 9.2 %Connecticut: 8.5 %Delaware: 14.4 %District of Columbia: 9.9 %Florida: 16.5 %Georgia: 11.2 %Hawaii: 14.1 %Idaho: 11.5 %Illinois: 8.9 %Indiana: 9.9 %Iowa: 9.3 %Kansas: 10.4 %Kentucky: 12.1 %Louisiana: 15.4 %Maine: 22.6 %Maryland: 8.8 %Massachusetts: 8.9 %Michigan: 12.9 %Minnesota: 9.8 %Mississippi: 15.8 %Missouri: 12.5 %Montana: 14.8 %Nebraska: 8.8 %Nevada: 10.1 %New Hampshire: 15.1 %New Jersey: 9.1 %New Mexico: 14.9 %New York: 10.9 %North Carolina: 13.7 %North Dakota: 14.5 %Ohio: 9.2 %Oklahoma: 13.7 %Oregon: 7.8 %Pennsylvania: 10.1 %Rhode Island: 11.3 %South Carolina: 15 %South Dakota: 11.8 %Tennessee: 11.5 %Texas: 10.5 %Utah: 8.8 %Vermont: 21.3 %Virginia: 9.7 %Washington: 7.5 %West Virginia: 17.2 %Wisconsin: 11.6 %Wyoming: 15.1 %
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%, 2021. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2021

Maine: 22.6 %Maine22.6Vermont: 21.3 %Vermont21.3Alaska: 19.7 %Alaska19.7West Virginia: 17.2 %West Virginia17.2Alabama: 16.5 %Alabama16.5Florida: 16.5 %Florida16.5Mississippi: 15.8 %Mississippi15.8Louisiana: 15.4 %Louisiana15.4Wyoming: 15.1 %Wyoming15.1New Hampshire: 15.1 %New Hampshire15.1South Carolina: 15 %South Carolina15Arkansas: 14.9 %Arkansas14.9New Mexico: 14.9 %New Mexico14.9Montana: 14.8 %Montana14.8North Dakota: 14.5 %North Dakota14.5Delaware: 14.4 %Delaware14.4Hawaii: 14.1 %Hawaii14.1North Carolina: 13.7 %North Carolina13.7Oklahoma: 13.7 %Oklahoma13.7Michigan: 12.9 %Michigan12.9Missouri: 12.5 %Missouri12.5Arizona: 12.2 %Arizona12.2Kentucky: 12.1 %Kentucky12.1South Dakota: 11.8 %South Dakota11.8Wisconsin: 11.6 %Wisconsin11.6Tennessee: 11.5 %Tennessee11.5Idaho: 11.5 %Idaho11.5Rhode Island: 11.3 %Rhode Island11.3Georgia: 11.2 %Georgia11.2New York: 10.9 %New York10.9Texas: 10.5 %Texas10.5Kansas: 10.4 %Kansas10.4Pennsylvania: 10.1 %Pennsylvania10.1Nevada: 10.1 %Nevada10.1District of Columbia: 9.9 %District of Columbia9.9Indiana: 9.9 %Indiana9.9Minnesota: 9.8 %Minnesota9.8Virginia: 9.7 %Virginia9.7Iowa: 9.3 %Iowa9.3Colorado: 9.2 %Colorado9.2Ohio: 9.2 %Ohio9.2New Jersey: 9.1 %New Jersey9.1Illinois: 8.9 %Illinois8.9Massachusetts: 8.9 %Massachusetts8.9Maryland: 8.8 %Maryland8.8Utah: 8.8 %Utah8.8Nebraska: 8.8 %Nebraska8.8Connecticut: 8.5 %Connecticut8.5Oregon: 7.8 %Oregon7.8California: 7.8 %California7.8Washington: 7.5 %Washington7.5Maine: 22.6 %Maine22.6Vermont: 21.3 %Vermont21.3Alaska: 19.7 %Alaska19.7West Virginia: 17.2 %West Virginia17.2Alabama: 16.5 %Alabama16.5Florida: 16.5 %Florida16.5Mississippi: 15.8 %Mississippi15.8Louisiana: 15.4 %Louisiana15.4Wyoming: 15.1 %Wyoming15.1New Hampshire: 15.1 %New Hampshire15.1South Carolina: 15 %South Carolina15Arkansas: 14.9 %Arkansas14.9New Mexico: 14.9 %New Mexico14.9Montana: 14.8 %Montana14.8North Dakota: 14.5 %North Dakota14.5Delaware: 14.4 %Delaware14.4Hawaii: 14.1 %Hawaii14.1North Carolina: 13.7 %North Carolina13.7Oklahoma: 13.7 %Oklahoma13.7Michigan: 12.9 %Michigan12.9Missouri: 12.5 %Missouri12.5Arizona: 12.2 %Arizona12.2Kentucky: 12.1 %Kentucky12.1South Dakota: 11.8 %South Dakota11.8Wisconsin: 11.6 %Wisconsin11.6Tennessee: 11.5 %Tennessee11.5Idaho: 11.5 %Idaho11.5Rhode Island: 11.3 %Rhode Island11.3Georgia: 11.2 %Georgia11.2New York: 10.9 %New York10.9Texas: 10.5 %Texas10.5Kansas: 10.4 %Kansas10.4Pennsylvania: 10.1 %Pennsylvania10.1Nevada: 10.1 %Nevada10.1District of Columbia: 9.9 %District of Columbia9.9Indiana: 9.9 %Indiana9.9Minnesota: 9.8 %Minnesota9.8Virginia: 9.7 %Virginia9.7Iowa: 9.3 %Iowa9.3Colorado: 9.2 %Colorado9.2Ohio: 9.2 %Ohio9.2New Jersey: 9.1 %New Jersey9.1Illinois: 8.9 %Illinois8.9Massachusetts: 8.9 %Massachusetts8.9Maryland: 8.8 %Maryland8.8Utah: 8.8 %Utah8.8Nebraska: 8.8 %Nebraska8.8Connecticut: 8.5 %Connecticut8.5Oregon: 7.8 %Oregon7.8California: 7.8 %California7.8Washington: 7.5 %Washington7.5
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2021 (%)
1Maine22.6
2Vermont21.3
3Alaska19.7
4West Virginia17.2
5Alabama16.5
6Florida16.5
7Mississippi15.8
8Louisiana15.4
9Wyoming15.1
10New Hampshire15.1
11South Carolina15
12Arkansas14.9
13New Mexico14.9
14Montana14.8
15North Dakota14.5
16Delaware14.4
17Hawaii14.1
18North Carolina13.7
19Oklahoma13.7
20Michigan12.9
21Missouri12.5
22Arizona12.2
23Kentucky12.1
24South Dakota11.8
25Wisconsin11.6
26Tennessee11.5
27Idaho11.5
28Rhode Island11.3
29Georgia11.2
30New York10.9
31Texas10.5
32Kansas10.4
33Pennsylvania10.1
34Nevada10.1
35District of Columbia9.9
36Indiana9.9
37Minnesota9.8
38Virginia9.7
39Iowa9.3
40Colorado9.2
41Ohio9.2
42New Jersey9.1
43Illinois8.9
44Massachusetts8.9
45Maryland8.8
46Utah8.8
47Nebraska8.8
48Connecticut8.5
49Oregon7.8
50California7.8
51Washington7.5

Other periods

About this ranking

Vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units.

More on how it is measured
  • Vacant units include those for rent or for sale, rented or sold but not yet occupied, for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, for migrant workers, and other vacant units.
  • United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

This gross rate counts seasonal and other off-market vacant units, so it is much higher than the rental and homeowner vacancy rates of the Housing Vacancy Survey (rental_vacancy_rate and homeowner_vacancy_rate) and cannot be compared with them. Counties with many holiday homes have high rates.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs (US states by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US states by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/us-states?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs. US states by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/us-states?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US states by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/us-states?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_housing_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs: US states by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/us-states?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs: US states by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/us-states?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/us-states?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US)?

Maine, with 22.6% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US)?

Washington, with 7.5% in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US): other rankings

US states: more rankings