COVID-19 Hot Spots Include Some of the Highest Housing Cost Markets in the Country
In the most expensive of the metropolitan1 areas with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases, in places where homeownership is most inaccessible, we can expect homeownership to recede further from reach for low- and moderate-income people in these areas.
The COVID-19 Hot Spots where homeownership rates are lower than the national rate (i.e., lower than 63.9%) are as follows:
| MSA | Homeownership Rate | Median Home Value |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 48.2% | $650,300 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 51.8% | $457,100 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 53.1% | $606,200 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 54.2% | $286,600 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 55.0% | $910,300 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 59.1% | $238,800 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 59.9% | $298,800 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 60.3% | $204,700 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 60.4% | $222,100 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 60.9% | $464,600 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 61.0% | $242,500 |
| Columbus, OH | 61.9% | $196,700 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 62.3% | $182,000 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 63.1% | $420,600 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 63.5% | $433,200 |
Source: US Census, 2018 1-year ACS
1 As of 1/22/21, the 30 MSAs with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases are: 1. New York City, 2. Los Angeles, 3. Chicago, 4. Dallas, 5. Miami, 6. Riverside, 7. Phoenix, 8. Houston, 9. Atlanta, 10. Philadelphia, 11. DC, 12. Boston, 13. Twin Cities, 14. Detroit, 15. St. Louis, 16. San Diego, 17. Nashville, 18. Las Vegas, 19. Denver, 20. San Francisco. 21. Charlotte, 22. Tampa, 23. San Antonio, 24. Indianapolis, 25. Orlando, 26. Cincinnati, 27. Milwaukee, 28. Columbus, 29. Kansas City, 30. Baltimore; per https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html.