Rent vs Own | Legacy Wealth Management

What strikes you about this chart of the share of households who rent vs own a home?

Two things jumped out at me…

The first was, “Strong population growth has intensified Washington, D.C’.’s house shortage” is what jumped out at me. What happened to “drain the swamp”? It was not long ago the cries of angst over the cutting of “waste” in the US government were heard across the land… Unfortunately it appears the swamp is winning.

I will stop there…

The other item that came to mind was when I typed in “own a home.”

Home ownership “free and clear” or buying a home through your friendly mortgage servicing company that sold your loan to the US government via FNMA and FMCC?

Here is what I found on the “free and clear” question:

Here is my three take aways from the “mortgage free” by state question:

Highest: West Virginia (41.1%) and Mississippi (40.8%) lead, thanks to lower home prices (median ~$150K–$200K) and higher retiree populations.

Lowest: States like California (33.1%), New Jersey (32.0%), and Colorado (32.6%) lag due to high costs and younger demographics.

Trends: Southern states dominate the top, while coastal/high-growth areas are at the bottom. From 2023 to 2024, states like Vermont (+8.9%) and New Mexico (+8.7%) saw the biggest jumps.

Investment advice offered through Convergence Financial, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Legacy Wealth Management and Convergence Financial are two separate entities. Supervised by Convergence Financial, 3919 S. Providence, Columbia, MO 65203

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