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Metro Area Housing Gross Vacancy Rates

View housing vacancy rate data for metro areas.

The U.S. registered a gross vacancy rate of 12.7 percent in 2017, according to Census Bureau estimates. That figure has gradually declined since the Great Recession, remaining relatively flat more recently.

Gross vacancy rates, which consider both rentals and owner-occupied housing units, vary considerably across different housing markets. Generally speaking, areas of the South tend to have more vacant units, particularly in Florida. Far lower rates are found in California's high-cost regions.

The Census Bureau reports annual estimates of the gross vacancy rate for the following 75 metro areas:



Metro Area 2016 2016 Error (+/-) 2017 2017 Error (-/+) % Point Change
Akron, OH 10.4 2.5 8.8 2.8 -1.6
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 11.8 2.3 10.5 2.6 -1.3
Albuquerque, NM 9.2 1.3 8.9 1.3 -0.3
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 7.4 2.1 9.5 2.8 2.1
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 9.7 0.8 8.9 1.0 -0.8
Austin-Round Rock, TX 8.2 1.5 10.4 1.8 2.2
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 12.8 1.5 12.2 1.6 -0.6
Baton Rouge, LA 12.3 2.6 13.6 2.1 1.3
Birmingham-Hoover, AL 16.7 2.5 15.6 2.0 -1.1
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 7.8 0.8 7.6 0.8 -0.2
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 8.6 2.0 9.3 2.3 0.7
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 11.6 2.0 12.4 2.5 0.8
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 38.5 3.8 39.1 4.3 0.6
Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC 14.8 3.0 16.5 3.0 1.7
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 7.7 1.3 6.9 1.3 -0.8
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 8.6 0.7 8.4 0.7 -0.2
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 9.2 1.3 8.4 1.5 -0.8
Cleveland-Elyria, OH 11.1 1.5 9.2 1.6 -1.9
Columbia, SC 10.2 2.5 11.0 2.3 0.8
Columbus, OH 8.0 1.3 6.6 1.5 -1.4
Dallas-Ft Worth-Arlington, TX 7.9 0.8 7.8 0.8 -0.1
Dayton, OH 12.0 2.6 11.1 2.8 -0.9
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 6.4 1.0 7.8 1.3 1.4
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI0 8.3 1.0 8.1 1.0 -0.2
Fresno, CA 6.2 2.0 4.0 1.6 -2.2
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 7.1 1.8 8.5 2.3 1.4
Greensboro-High Point, NC 10.9 2.5 10.2 2.5 -0.7
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 13.4 2.0 10.1 2.0 -3.3
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 8.6 0.8 9.3 1.0 0.7
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 9.1 1.5 10.9 1.6 1.8
Jacksonville, FL 14.5 2.0 12.5 2.1 -2.0
Kansas City, MO-KS 8.1 1.3 8.1 1.2 0.0
Knoxville, TN 10.6 2.5 11.2 2.3 0.6
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 11.8 1.2 12.6 1.3 0.8
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 11.8 2.1 10.3 2.8 -1.5
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 5.0 0.5 6.3 0.7 1.3
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 7.6 1.6 7.3 1.6 -0.3
Memphis, TN-AR-MS 10.9 2.0 12.1 2.0 1.2
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 17.9 1.2 17.8 1.3 -0.1
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 6.5 1.3 7.9 1.8 1.4
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 5.3 0.8 4.5 1.0 -0.8
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN 6.6 1.3 6.2 1.3 -0.4
New Haven-Milford, CT 10.0 2.1 10.0 2.3 0.0
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 13.6 2.1 12.8 1.6 -0.8
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 10.3 0.5 10.7 0.7 0.4
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 27.9 3.3 28.3 3.8 0.4
Oklahoma City, OK 11.9 1.8 11.1 1.6 -0.8
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 6.9 1.3 5.9 1.2 -1.0
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL0 13.2 1.6 14.3 2.0 1.1
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 9.3 0.8 8.6 1.0 -0.7
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 13.9 1.2 13.7 1.3 -0.2
Pittsburgh, PA 17.7 1.6 13.6 1.8 -4.1
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 6.7 1.2 6.4 1.0 -0.3
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 11.1 0.8 11.3 1.0 0.2
Raleigh, NC 6.8 1.6 8.0 2.0 1.2
Richmond, VA 6.9 1.6 9.1 2.1 2.2
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 14.8 1.3 16.2 1.5 1.4
Rochester, NY 7.9 1.8 8.5 2.1 0.6
Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA 8.6 1.3 7.5 1.5 -1.1
Salt Lake City, UT 5.4 1.2 5.0 1.2 -0.4
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 9.9 1.5 9.9 1.6 0.0
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 7.5 1.0 6.4 1.2 -1.1
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 6.0 0.8 6.0 1.0 0.0
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 6.1 1.3 6.0 1.5 -0.1
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 5.6 0.8 6.0 1.0 0.4
St Louis, MO-IL 9.5 1.2 9.2 1.3 -0.3
Syracuse, NY 12.0 2.6 13.0 3.3 1.0
Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 16.1 1.5 16.2 1.6 0.1
Toledo, OH 9.1 2.5 13.6 3.6 4.5
Tucson, AZ 15.6 2.5 13.8 2.6 -1.8
Tulsa, OK 8.6 1.8 10.2 1.8 1.6
Urban Honolulu, HI 13.7 1.5 13.9 1.3 0.2
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC0 12.0 1.8 9.4 2.0 -2.6
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 8.2 0.8 7.4 1.0 -0.8
Worcester, MA 8.6 2.1 8.2 2.0 -0.4
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey, February 27, 2018. See data methodology and definitions
Mike Maciag is Data Editor for GOVERNING.
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