Money

The Most Expensive States to Maintain a Home

Published

9 months ago

July 2, 2024

Bruno Venditti

Graphics/Design:

Sam Parker

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The Most Expensive States to Maintain a Home

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Buying a house is the American dream, but maintaining that property in good shape can be challenging for homeowners.

This map shows the 15 most expensive states in the U.S. to maintain a single-family home.

Methodology: Bankrate aggregated the average costs of property taxes, homeowners insurance, and home maintenance costs (estimated at 2% per year of the value of a single-family home). Calculations also included energy, internet, and cable bills. All figures adjusted for inflation as of June 2024.

Hawaii is the Most Expensive State to Maintain a Home

The average annual cost of owning and maintaining a single-family home in the U.S. is more than $18,000 yearly, a 26% increase compared to 2020.

With an average annual cost of $29,015, Hawaii is the most expensive state to maintain a home.

California comes in second with an average annual ownership cost of $28,790, followed by Massachusetts with $26,313.

Rank	State	Average annual home ownership costs, 2024	Percent change, 2020 vs. 2024
1	Hawaii	$29.0K	38%
2	California	$28.8K	32%
3	Massachusetts	$26.3K	28%
4	New Jersey	$25.6K	25%
5	Connecticut	$23.5K	24%
6	Washington	$23.4K	32%
7	New Hampshire	$23.3K	29%
8	New York	$22.8K	25%
9	Rhode Island	$22.0K	27%
10	Colorado	$21.0K	33%
11	Vermont	$19.8K	29%
12	Maryland	$19.7K	23%
13	Oregon	$19.2K	24%
14	Florida	$19.2K	33%
15	Utah	$19.1K	44%
	U.S. Average	$18.2K	26%

Property taxes in New Jersey average $10,026 annually, the highest in the nation.

States with the Least Expensive Homeownership Costs

Kentucky is the least expensive place to own a home, with an average annual cost of $11,559, followed by Arkansas ($11,692) and Mississippi ($11,881).

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this graphic, which shows what you need to earn to own a home in 50 American cities.