Metros with the most unoccupied homes in America

Canva There are many reasons why a community can wind up with too many houses and not enough people to live in them. Sometimes, it’s a simple case of population loss or an economic downturn that leads to a rash of foreclosures. Other times, there are larger forces at work, like developers overbuilding in anticipation of a housing boom that never materializes. COVID-19 swiftly and drastically impacted the housing market across many regions, causing a shortage of affordable housing for most and an opportunity for second or even third homes for others. Stacker compiled a list of the 50 metro areas with the most unoccupied homes by analyzing data from the Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey, released in September 2022 (the most recent available). Metro areas are ranked by the percentage of unoccupied homes out of all the homes in each metro area. Ties were broken by the total number of unoccupied homes in the metro area as a whole. In 22 of the 50 metros listed, more than 50% of unoccupied homes are for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use. A nationwide epidemic of unoccupied homes is “America’s other housing crisis,” according to a CityLab report based on a recent Center for Community Progress study. The report cites the “staggering economic and social costs” that mass vacancies tend to create for the communities they affect. It also points out that the 2008 recession sent the number of vacant homes soaring by 26% between 2005 and 2010, from 9.5 million to 12 million. That number has since declined, but vacancies have still not returned to the pre-recession lows. The dynamic has shifted since then. Vacant homes were long associated with economically distressed urban centers, often described with the umbrella term “inner city.” Today, however, vacancies are the bane of small towns. In post-recession America, rural areas suffer from vacancy rates that are double those found in metropolitan regions. Keep reading to find out about the metro areas where residents are most likely to live next to an empty house and what factors contribute to the vacancies. You may also like: Best places to live in the Midwest #50. Lake Havasu City, Arizona S. Winkvist // Wikimedia Commons – Total homes in metro area: 119,446 – Total unoccupied homes: 17,048 (14.3% of total) — Homes for rent: 137 (0.1% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 7 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 905 (0.8% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 977 (5.7% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 11,787 (69.1% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 6 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 3,229 (18.9% of unoccupied homes) #49. Dothan, Alabama Nick Fox // Shutterstock – Total homes in metro area: 71,409 – Total unoccupied homes: 10,236 (14.3% of total) — Homes for rent: 1,060 (1.5% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 192 (1.9% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 989 (1.4% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 413 (4.0% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 983 (9.6% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 0 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 6,599 (64.5% of unoccupied homes) #48. Florence, South Carolina Felix Mizioznikov // Shutterstock – Total homes in metro area: 91,081 – Total unoccupied homes: 13,163 (14.5% of total) — Homes for rent: 2,056 (2.3% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 408 (3.1% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 901 (1.0% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 196 (1.5% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 347 (2.6% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 130 (1.0% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 9,125 (69.3% of unoccupied homes) #47. Charleston, South Carolina Susanne Pommer // Shutterstock – Total homes in metro area: 370,105 – Total unoccupied homes: 53,727 (14.5% of total) — Homes for rent: 16,890 (4.6% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 1,094 (2.0% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 4,319 (1.2% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 2,440 (4.5% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 14,764 (27.5% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 136 (0.3% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 14,084 (26.2% of unoccupied homes) #46. Port St. Lucie, Florida Felix Mizioznikov // Shutterstock – Total homes in metro area: 235,345 – Total unoccupied homes: 34,391 (14.6% of total) — Homes for rent: 3,236 (1.4% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 486 (1.4% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 2,515 (1.1% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 1,655 (4.8% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 24,128 (70.2% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 0 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 2,371 (6.9% of unoccupied homes) #45. Niles, Michigan Logan Bush // Shutterstock – Total homes in metro area: 77,035 – Total unoccupied homes: 11,271 (14.6% of total) — Homes for rent: 351 (0.5% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 0 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 251 (0.3% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 452 (4.0% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 7,386 (65.5% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 100 (0.9% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 2,731 (24.2% of unoccupied homes) #44. Rocky Mount, North Carolina gurezende // Shutterstock – Total homes in metro area: 66,587 – Total unoccupied homes: 9,747 (14.6% of total) — Homes for rent: 454 (0.7% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 128 (1.3% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 448 (0.7% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 271 (2.8% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 562 (5.8% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 0 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 7,884 (80.9% of unoccupied homes) #43. Farmington, New Mexico Shoppy22 // Shutterstock – Total homes in metro area: 47,980 – Total unoccupied homes: 7,136 (14.9% of total) — Homes for rent: 675 (1.4% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 23 (0.3% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 635 (1.3% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 0 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 1,275 (17.9% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 27 (0.4% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 4,501 (63.1% of unoccupied homes) #42. Monroe, Louisiana Jarred Armfield // Shutterstock – Total homes in metro area: 94,433 – Total unoccupied homes: 14,099 (14.9% of total) — Homes for rent: 1,835 (1.9% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 481 (3.4% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 326 (0.3% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 431 (3.1% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 1,141 (8.1% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 0 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 9,885 (70.1% of unoccupied homes) #41. Wheeling, West Virginia Real Window Creative // Shutterstock – Total homes in metro area: 67,417 – Total unoccupied homes: 10,085 (15.0% of total) — Homes for rent: 1,898 (2.8% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 295 (2.9% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 378 (0.6% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 340 (3.4% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 1,094 (10.8% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 69 (0.7% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 6,011 (59.6% of unoccupied homes) #40. Atlantic City, New Jersey Jessica Kourkounis // Getty Images – Total homes in metro area: 132,214 – Total unoccupied homes: 19,915 (15.1% of total) — Homes for rent: 731 (0.6% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 0 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 1,051 (0.8% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 690 (3.5% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 15,213 (76.4% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 0 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 2,230 (11.2% of unoccupied homes) #39. Lawton, Oklahoma YuniqueB // Shutterstock – Total homes in metro area: 55,351 – Total unoccupied homes: 8,435 (15.2% of total) — Homes for rent: 1,427 (2.6% of total) — Homes rented but not occupied: 622 (7.4% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for sale: 429 (0.8% of total) — Homes sold, but not occupied: 559 (6.6% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for occasional, recreational, or seasonal use: 391 (4.6% of unoccupied homes) — Homes for migrant workers: 0 (0.0% of unoccupied homes) — Other vacant homes: 5,007 (59.4% of unoccupied homes) #38. Carbondale, Illinois