July 18, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Homeownership highest in Midwest and South

Consumers in the Midwest and South were more likely to be homeowners in 2000 than were their counterparts in the Northeast and West.

Homeownership rate and housing expenditure share, U.S. average and by region, 2000
[Chart data—TXT]

In the Midwest, 70 percent of consumers were homeowners, as were 68 percent in the South. In the Northeast, the homeownership rate was 62 percent, while in the West it was 60 percent. The overall rate of homeownership in the U.S. was 66 percent in 2000.

In contrast to home ownership rates, housing expenditure shares were lowest in the Midwest and South and highest in the West and Northeast. The average expenditure share for the U.S. in 2000 was 32 percent of annual spending.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey program. Additional information is available from "Consumer Spending Patterns Differ by Region," Issues in Labor Statistics (PDF 86K), BLS Summary 02-04.

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