Seasonal and vacation homes, state by state

Of the 40 states and the District of Columbia where we are licensed, New Hampshire has the largest share of housing units kept for seasonal, recreational or occasional use: about 10.1 of every 100 housing units. Alaska, at about 8.6, and Delaware, at about 8.5, come next, within their margins of error of each other. The District of Columbia and Illinois have the smallest shares, about 0.8 each, within their margins of each other. The national figure is about 3.3. It is written for real estate investors weighing business-purpose loans.

What the Census category means

The Census Bureau counts a housing unit as vacant when no one is living in it, and sorts vacant units into groups. One group is “for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use”: units used, or meant to be used, in certain seasons or for weekends and other occasional use. Vacation homes, second homes and timeshare units fit here, and so do quarters for seasonal workers. These are places no one lives in for most of the year.

The Census does not say whether any one of these units is rented to guests. Its definition says units let for stays of a month or less belong in this group, but the table adds them to the rest and cannot be split. It lists no addresses or owners, and it says nothing about local rules.

The table: 40 states and the District of Columbia

The second column counts seasonal-use 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 seasonal-use units, divided by all housing units and by all vacant units.
• Margins of error: from the Census Bureau’s formula for proportions. In the fourth column, ten states and the national figure needed the Bureau’s ratio formula.
• Counts are estimates too, each with its own margin, up to about 10,600 housing units for Florida.

What the table shows

• Six places are at about 6 or more: New Hampshire, Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Montana and Wisconsin. Five are below about 1.5: Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Illinois and the District of Columbia.
• Above and below the nation. Eighteen of the 41 are above the national figure of about 3.3 by more than their margins of error and 22 are below it. Arkansas is within its margins.
• Out of every 100 vacant units. Nationally, about 32.6 are kept for seasonal use. New Hampshire is highest at about 70.5, then Delaware at about 63.6. The District of Columbia has the smallest, about 7.5.
• Counts. Florida has the most seasonal-use housing units, 802,265, then California with 357,596.
• New Jersey is 18th of the 41 at about 3.4, with 128,577 housing units. That is above the national figure by more than the margins, but by a narrow gap, and the place is not firm: Arkansas is within its margins of it. On the second measure it is 14th of the 41, at about 45.3, against the national 32.6; Michigan, Massachusetts, Utah and Colorado are within their margins of it, and its margin of 1.05 came from the ratio formula.

If you want to read about loans for investors

The table says nothing about any loan, and a count of seasonal-use units does not show which properties are let to guests. A short-term rental loan is a DSCR loan on a house, condo or two-to-four-unit property let by the night or week through a booking platform, based on the income it brings in rather than your personal income. For a Census look at homes with no one living in them for other reasons, see other vacant homes 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 rented to guests?

The table does not say. The Census counts a unit here by how it is kept, for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, not by whether it is let.

What is the difference between the two measures?

The first compares seasonal-use 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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