18% of California households enjoy mortgage-free living

Only 18% of California’s 13. 7 million households live in a house they own without a mortgage. That’s a far thinner slice compared with the 26% of the 131 million US households that are mortgage-free. And only Washington D. C.

, at 10%, has a smaller share of households without a mortgage. West Virginia was No. 1 at 40%. Now, let’s look at other households. Start with the 38% of California households that own their home with the help of a mortgage.

Those borrowers are the 11th-smallest slice among the states but it’s also just below the 39% share nationally. Do not forget California’s large share of renters. Tenants paying rent represent 43% of Golden State households – third-highest behind D. C. (60%) and New York (45%).

Nationally, it’s 33%. And let’s note a curious slice tracked by Census – tenants paying no rent. These households, certainly blessed with generous landlords or curious living arrangements, are 1. 4% of Californians (No. 34 among the states) and that’s below 1.

6% nationally. Mortgage-free living is growing. California had 2. 5 million households without a mortgage last year, the third-largest tally among the state behind Texas (3. 1 million) and Florida (2.

6 million). The Golden State’s no-loan owners grew by 12% from pre-pandemic 2019, the No. 28 gain among the states. Nevada was tops with a 24% jump. Nationally, 33.

6 million owners were mortgage-free, up 13% in four years. Still, no home loan doesn’t mean a household without housing costs. Remember, there’s pricier insurance, taxes, repairs, etc. So no-mortgage homes cost their owners a median $834 a month in California in 2023, that’s the seventh-highest expense and is 33% above the U. S.

norm of $629. These expenditures rose by 34% in four years, the second-largest gain behind Colorado’s 37%. And it outpaced a 24% jump nationally. Even a family budget with no home loan can be stretched by housing costs. Last year, 17.

8% of California’s mortgage-free households spent 30%-plus of their income on housing, a problematic level by some measurements. That’s the eighth-largest burden among the states and a slice that’s grown from 14. 5% in four years. Nationally, 15. 2% of mortgage-less households spent 30%-plus on housing, up 12.

5% in 2019. If a personal finance pinnacle is paying off one’s mortgage, Californians do a poor job of it. Obviously, the state’s high home prices mean giant mortgages that are a tough hurdle to pay off. Plus, many in California choose to stay in a mortgage in order to use those borrowed funds to help pay other lofty Golden State living expenses.