In American cities like Philadelphia and San Jose, more than half of single people own their own homes. SmartAsset ranked the biggest American cities by their single homeownership rate.
- In US cities like Philadelphia and San Jose, it's common for single people to own their own houses.
- SmartAsset looked at the 100 biggest cities and ranked them by their rate of single homeownership.
- Most of the cities were in the West, but the top two cities were both in Virginia.
When you think of single life in the city, it may conjure up memories of crowded four-person apartments or, if you're lucky, a shoebox-sized studio.
But in some American cities, single people can dream bigger. In fact, there are a decent amount of US cities where it's actually the norm for single people to own a house, according to personal finance company SmartAsset.
In a recent report, SmartAsset ranked the 100 biggest US cities by their single homeownership rate — or in other words, the percentage of single-occupant houses that the occupant owns themselves.
The West dominated the list, with the region providing seven of the top 10 cities. Virginia, however claimed the top two cities on the list. Among all the top 25 cities, SmartAsset identified two key trends: cities with large senior and retiree populations tended to place well, as did cities with low median home values.
Read on to see the 25 cities in America where singles have the highest homeownership rate:
25. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Number of single households: 221,003
Number of single homeowners: 100,441
Homeownership rate for singles: 45.45%
24. Lexington, Kentucky
Number of single households: 40,314
Number of single homeowners: 18,374
Homeownership rate for singles: 45.58%
23. Boise, Idaho
Number of single households: 30,952
Number of single homeowners: 14,118
Homeownership rate for singles: 45.61%
22. Louisville, Kentucky
Number of single households: 85,965
Number of single homeowners: 39,242
Homeownership rate for singles: 45.65%
21. Colorado Springs, Colorado
Number of single households: 54,267
Number of single homeowners: 24,970
Homeownership rate for singles: 46.01%
20. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Number of single households: 32,543
Number of single homeowners: 14,986
Homeownership rate for singles: 46.05%
19. Wichita, Kansas
Number of single households: 51,596
Number of single homeowners: 23,796
Homeownership rate for singles: 46.12%
18. Spokane, Washington
Number of single households: 28,849
Number of single homeowners: 13,327
Homeownership rate for singles: 46.20%
17. El Paso, Texas
Number of single households: 58,321
Number of single homeowners: 27,048
Homeownership rate for singles: 46.38%
16. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Number of single households: 73,645
Number of single homeowners: 34,492
Homeownership rate for singles: 46.84%
15. San Jose, California
Number of single households: 61,436
Number of single homeowners: 29,035
Homeownership rate for singles: 47.26%
14. Anchorage, Alaska
Number of single households: 25,247
Number of single homeowners: 12,056
Homeownership rate for singles: 47.75%
13. St. Petersburg, Florida
Number of single households: 41,729
Number of single homeowners: 20,072
Homeownership rate for singles: 48.10%
12. Jacksonville, Florida
Number of single households: 99,257
Number of single homeowners: 47,777
Homeownership rate for singles: 48.13%
11. Des Moines, Iowa
Number of single households: 29,111
Number of single homeowners: 14,139
Homeownership rate for singles: 48.57%
10. Albuquerque, New Mexico
Number of single households: 73,229
Number of single homeowners: 36,639
Homeownership rate for singles: 50.03%
9. Bakersfield, California
Number of single households: 25,528
Number of single homeowners: 12,846
Homeownership rate for singles: 50.32%
8. Mesa, Arizona
Number of single households: 41,768
Number of single homeowners: 21,256
Homeownership rate for singles: 50.89%
7. Fort Wayne, Indiana
Number of single households: 34,959
Number of single homeowners: 17,851
Homeownership rate for singles: 51.06%
6. Scottsdale, Arizona
Number of single households: 38,833
Number of single homeowners: 20,279
Homeownership rate for singles: 52.22%
5. Henderson, Nevada
Number of single households: 32,837
Number of single homeowners: 17,308
Homeownership rate for singles: 53.44%
4. Chandler, Arizona
Number of single households: 22,388
Number of single homeowners: 12,085
Homeownership rate for singles: 53.98%
3. Aurora, Colorado
Number of single households: 34,314
Number of single homeowners: 18,729
Homeownership rate for singles: 54,58%
2. Virginia Beach, Virginia
Number of single households: 40,601
Number of single homeowners: 23,054
Homeownership rate for singles: 56.78%
1. Chesapeake, Virginia
Number of single households: 18,948
Number of single homeowners: 12,086
Homeownership rate for singles: 63.79%