Monthly rental costs did decrease in some counties between 2015-2019 and 2020-2024, but they increased in nearly twice as many counties — including some already near or above the $1,309 national median during the earlier period.

Rental costs increased and decreased in both large and small, urban and rural counties. Some areas, like Washington, D.C., had a cluster of nearby counties (Arlington and Fairfax in Virginia and Montgomery in Maryland) where median rents dropped from 2015-2019 to 2020-2024.

While mortgaged households’ median monthly costs (including mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities, insurance and condo, mobile home and other fees) remained unchanged at $1,963, these costs climbed in 369 counties but declined in 589 counties between the two five-year periods.

Three Colorado counties (Adams, Denver and Weld) had among the largest increases of counties with more than 50,000 homeowners. Martin County, Texas, in the Midland-Odessa metropolitan area, had some of the largest increases among smaller counties.

It should be noted that homeowners’ costs in the data do not include maintenance or repair fees which typically impact owners more than renters. 

Some homeowners had lower costs despite rapidly increasing home values in most of the nation between the two periods.

The historically low interest rates during the COVID-19 pandemic may have helped drive down costs. Lower rates allowed homeowners to refinance and reduce their monthly payments, which was especially beneficial to those with high mortgages in areas with hefty home price tags.

All the counties (with over 50,000 homeowners) that had among the largest drops in homeowner costs were in New Jersey (Table 4). Several more counties (such as Mercer, Passaic and Bergen) in New Jersey were also among those with the largest drops.

Other states, including New York and Maryland, also had several large counties with among the largest decrease in mortgage homeowner costs. Many of these areas across the states had higher home values and costs than the rest of the nation in the 2015-2019 period.

They also had less dramatic increases in home values than the $65,000 hike in national median home values between the two five-year periods ($267,700 to $332,700). Homeowners in areas with already high home values would likely have the most to gain from lower interest rates. 

The ACS 5-year release includes data on a broad range of geographies and topics and is one of the best sources of information on areas that are not included in the ACS 1-year release because of a smaller sample size.

The ACS includes data on many housing topics like structure and occupancy, home amenities (kitchens, bathrooms and access to vehicles), housing costs and financing details.