Housing Wealth Gap Widens: Where Americans Own the Most Home Equity
American homeowners are sitting on a record $34.9 trillion in home equity, but that wealth is far from evenly distributed. A new LendingTree analysis reveals a stark geographic divide, with homeowners in Hawaii and California holding more than triple the equity of those in parts of the South and Midwest.
The findings raise important questions about inequality, generational wealth, and who gets to benefit from the housing market's dramatic run-up. For millions of renters and younger Americans, the same trend that enriched existing homeowners has pushed ownership further out of reach.
Which states have the highest home equity?
LendingTree analyzed roughly 967,000 anonymized home equity inquiries made on its platform between January 1 and March 31, 2026. The company calculated median reported equity and the share of inquiries showing at least $200,000 in equity for each state.
Hawaii tops the list with a median home equity of $425,000, with 80.5 percent of inquiries reporting at least $200,000. California follows at $350,000, and Massachusetts rounds out the top three at $345,000. Utah ($300,000) and New Jersey ($295,000) complete the top five.
The top ten also includes Washington ($295,000), Rhode Island ($285,000), New Hampshire ($275,000), Colorado ($255,000), and Idaho ($250,000). Notably, no Southern state makes the list, a region where a wave of new home construction has cooled prices since the pandemic.
Which states have the lowest home equity?
At the other end of the spectrum, homeowners in West Virginia and Iowa hold a median equity of just $130,000. Arkansas and Mississippi follow at $140,000, while Kentucky and Oklahoma report $145,000.
Louisiana, Alabama, Ohio, and Indiana all sit at $150,000. The gap between the top and bottom states is striking: a typical homeowner in Hawaii holds more than three times the equity of one in West Virginia.
Why the housing wealth gap matters for economic fairness
The pandemic triggered a homebuying frenzy fueled by historically low interest rates. National median single-family home prices jumped 48 percent between 2019 and 2024, according to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, more than double the rate of income growth over the same period.
For those who already owned property, that surge built substantial wealth. The Federal Reserve Board reports that U.S. households owned $48.7 trillion in real estate assets as of the first quarter of 2026, against $13.8 trillion in mortgage debt.
But the flip side is troubling: millions of Americans, particularly younger adults and people of color, were locked out of homeownership entirely. The wealth generated by rising prices has flowed disproportionately to those who were already in a position to buy, widening the racial and generational wealth gaps that persist across the country.
How homeowners are using their equity
Many are choosing to tap into that wealth. U.S. homeowners withdrew an estimated $47 billion in equity during the first quarter of 2026, the highest first-quarter figure since 2021, according to the ICE Mortgage Monitor from Intercontinental Exchange.
Home equity loans can fund major renovations, consolidate high-interest debt, or cover large expenses like education or medical bills. But the amount available varies dramatically by location, and the average price per square foot for new homes has surged 74 percent over the past decade, from $97 in 2014 to $169 in 2024.
Regional differences are stark. In the West, price per square foot more than doubled, rising 105 percent to $224, while the Midwest saw 63 percent growth to $165.
What should homeowners consider before borrowing?
Matt Schulz, LendingTree's chief consumer finance analyst, cautions against focusing on national averages.