In more than 60% of metro areas, the occupations most likely to own homes today are different from what they were a decade ago, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors®.
NAR reports that some jobs make it easier to become a homeowner than others.
While higher salaries play a role, factors like job stability and the geographic location of employment are also important.
“It really comes down to affordability,” NAR senior economist Nadia Evangelou tells Realtor.com®.
“You can be an engineer earning a strong salary, but if you’re in a high-cost market, that income may not be enough. In more affordable markets, even lower-paying jobs can have higher homeownership rates.”
Evangelou says affordability is the biggest piece, but that’s also tied to location.
“Income matters, of course, but where that job is located and how prices compare to local incomes ends up being the defining factor,” she says.
NAR found that those in executive, management, and financial roles are the most likely to own homes, with homeownership holding steady at 72.2% nationally, just below the 72.4% recorded in 2014.
Several midsized metropolitan areas—each with over 100,000 households—show notably high homeownership rates among these professionals.
Homeownership among management and business workers nears 90% in Myrtle Beach, SC, York-Hanover, PA, and Duluth, MN.
According to Evangelou, many of these markets combine professional employment opportunities with relatively attainable home prices.
In Myrtle Beach, the median listing price is $327,950, compared to $344,800 in York-Hanover and $317,425 in Duluth.
Across the country, 67.3% of educators own their homes, a small decline from 68% in 2014.
NAR reports that several metropolitan areas stand out for high homeownership rates, particularly in communities where housing remains affordable for middle-income households.
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL, Brownsville-Harlingen, TX, and Fort Smith, AR, rank among the markets with especially high homeownership rates for educators.
In Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, the median listing price is $499,500, while it’s $297,935 in Brownsville-Harlingen and $275,000 in Fort Smith.
STEM and technical professionals—including engineers, computer scientists, and other specialists—rank among the highest in homeownership, with a rate of 67.2%, down from 69.2% in 2014.
Homeownership among technical workers has risen in several metro areas. Markets including Ocala, FL, Montgomery, AL, and Savannah, GA, report particularly strong ownership rates, driven by ongoing growth in technology and research jobs and housing that remains more affordable than in many coastal tech hubs.
The median listing prices are $299,250 in Ocala, $282,400 in Montgomery, and $410,000 in Savannah.
Homeownership among sales and real estate professionals increased significantly, rising from 60.8% in 2014 to 63.3% today.
In metros such as Appleton, WI, Lexington, KY, and Palm Bay, FL, these workers enjoy high homeownership rates, which have also risen considerably over the past decade.
The median listing price is $393,400 in Appleton, $393,120 in Lexington, and $379,450 in Palm Bay.
Workers in health care—including nurses, physicians, and medical technicians—have a national homeownership rate of 62.2%, up from 61.8% in 2014.
NAR reports that metros such as Beaumont, TX, Cape Coral, FL, and Lynchburg, VA, show strong homeownership rates among health care workers. These areas also experienced increases over the past decade, supported by steady health care employment and moderate housing costs.
The median listing prices are $236,800 in Beaumont, $399,900 in Cape Coral, and $349,900 in Lynchburg.
Electricians, carpenters, and other skilled trades workers report a 62% homeownership rate, slightly higher than the 61.2% recorded in 2014.
In metropolitan areas such as Wilmington, NC, Charleston, WV, and Green Bay, WI, NAR found that construction and skilled trades workers report particularly high rates of homeownership.
According to Evangelou, construction wages have risen in many of these markets while home prices remain relatively attainable.
The median listing prices are $482,700 in Wilmington, $155,000 in Charleston, and $427,450 in Green Bay.
Truck drivers, police officers, and firefighters report a 58.1% homeownership rate nationwide, modestly below the 59.3% recorded in 2014.
But several metros, including Asheville, NC, Youngstown, OH, and North Port, FL, feature more affordable housing, which enables higher homeownership among these workers, NAR reports.
Homes in Asheville have a median listing price of $540,000, while Youngstown’s median is $189,250 and North Port’s is $492,500.
Service workers—including those in hospitality, food service, and personal care—have the lowest national homeownership rate at 45.5%. Nevertheless, they have experienced the largest increase since 2014, up from 42.7%.
Service workers in several metro areas exceed the national homeownership average. Markets like Salisbury, MD, Ogden, UT, and Lancaster, PA, demonstrate how more affordable housing can help these workers become homeowners.
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Homes in Salisbury list for a median of $287,700, compared with $524,650 in Ogden and $419,850 in Lancaster.
What was the most surprising trend that NAR found when analyzing homeownership by occupation over the past decade?
“Honestly, how much the local story has changed,” says Evangelou. “Nationally, the same occupations still lead, but in more than 60% of metro areas, the top homeowning occupation is different than it was a decade ago. For example, in Charleston and Charlotte, education roles now lead in homeownership, ahead of management and STEM, which were on top a decade ago, respectively.”
In Charleston, the median listing price is $488,200, while it’s $415,000 in Charlotte.
Evangelou says many areas with strong homeownership rates—like the Midwest, the South, and parts of Florida—tend to have one thing in common: prices that are more in line with local incomes.
“That’s what allows a broader range of workers, not just top earners, to actually buy a home,” she explains.
Looking ahead, Evangelou says occupations in more affordable markets will likely see further gains, like construction, education, or some service roles in lower-cost areas.
“In contrast, high-income professions concentrated in expensive metros may continue to face challenges, simply because affordability remains tight,” she says.
