Vacant homes not on the market, state by state

Of the 40 states and the District of Columbia where we are licensed, Mississippi has the largest share of housing units that sit vacant for reasons other than rent, sale or seasonal use: about 9.1 of every 100 housing units. Louisiana, at about 8.1, and Alabama, at about 7.7, come next, each apart from the others by more than the margins of error. Colorado has the smallest share, at about 1.7; Utah is within its margin. The national figure is about 3.6. It is written for real estate investors weighing business-purpose loans.

What “other vacant” means

A vacant housing unit is one with no one living in it. The Census Bureau sorts each into one of seven groups: for rent, rented but not yet occupied, for sale, sold but not yet occupied, seasonal, recreational or occasional use, migrant workers, and “other vacant,” which is every vacant unit that fits none of the first six. The Census records reasons such as repairs, foreclosure, the owner’s personal or family reasons, legal proceedings, preparing to rent or sell, an extended absence, and a category it calls abandoned or possibly condemned. The table gives no reason for any one home, lists no addresses or owners, and does not say that any home is for sale.

The table: 40 states and the District of Columbia

The second column counts other vacant units out of every 100 housing units. The fourth counts them out of every 100 vacant units. The margin of error is the Census Bureau’s, at 90 in 100 confidence, and applies to the column before it.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, tables B25004 and B25001, read from data.census.gov on November 8, 2026. Shares and margins worked out by Fidelity Residential.

How the figures were worked out

• Shares: the Census count of other vacant units, divided by all housing units and by all vacant units.
• Margins of error: from the Census Bureau’s formula for proportions, so they are approximations. One figure, Illinois in the fourth column, needed the Bureau’s ratio formula.
• Counts are estimates too, each with its own margin, up to about 7,100 housing units for California.

What the table shows

• Five places are at about 6 or more: Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Three are below about 2: New Jersey, Utah and Colorado.
• Above and below the nation. Eighteen of the 41 are above the national figure of about 3.6 by more than their margins of error and 18 are below it. Five are within their margins: Hawaii, Michigan, Virginia, Montana and the District of Columbia.
• Out of every 100 vacant units. Nationally, about 35.9 are vacant for other reasons. Mississippi is highest at about 62.5, then Kentucky at about 57.6 and Louisiana at about 56.3; Kentucky and Louisiana are within their margins of each other. New Hampshire has the smallest, about 15.8.
• Counts. Texas has the most housing units vacant for other reasons, 425,639, then California with 306,250.
• New Jersey is 39th of the 41 at about 1.9, with 73,821 housing units. That is below the national figure by more than the margins, but the place is not firm: Oregon, Washington, Minnesota and Utah are each within their margins of it. On the second measure it is 32nd of the 41, at about 26.0, against the national 35.9.

If you want to read about loans for investors

A fix and flip loan is a business-purpose loan: short-term financing for a real estate investor to buy and renovate a property, then sell it or refinance it into a long-term loan. A hard money loan is short-term financing for a real estate investor, sized on the property rather than on your tax returns, to buy, renovate or carry an investment property until you sell it or refinance it. For a Census look at rental homes with no one living in them, see rental vacancies by state.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the table show 40 states and the District of Columbia?

Fidelity Residential is licensed in 40 states and the District of Columbia, and the table covers those.

Are these homes for sale?

The table does not say. The Census puts a vacant home in a different group when it is offered for rent or for sale, so “other vacant” is the group for the rest. It lists no homes, addresses or owners.

What is the difference between the two measures?

The first compares other vacant units with all housing units. The second compares them with vacant units alone, so a state with few empty homes can still have a large second figure.

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