Cleveland among worst when it comes to minority homeownership

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A recent report determined Cleveland has one of the largest minority homeownership gaps in the country.

According to Construction Coverage, which provides reviews, research and guides about the construction and real estate industry, Cleveland ranks number six among the largest metros in the nation for its minority homeownership gap. Using U.S. Census Bureau data, the company found that minority homeownership was 31% lower compared to white homeowners.

Ohio also ranked sixth nationally with minority homeownership being 28% lower than for whites.

Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wis., came in first place among the largest metros with the homeownership gap being 32.8%. It was followed by the Hartford-East Hartford-Middleton, Conn., area at 31.6%. Louisville, Ky., and Jefferson County, Ind., tied for third at 31.5%. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati rounded out the top five with the gap being 31.3% and 31.2% respectively.

Columbus was ranked at number 12 with a homeownership gap of 27.3%, while Akron came in fifth in the midsized metro category at 29.4%.

On the other end, the largest metro with the smallest gaps was determined to be Austin-Roundtree, Texas with the minority homeownership gap at 10.6%.

The report found that nationally, Black people have the lowest homeownership rate and the largest gap, proceeded by Hispanic and Indigenous groups. Asian Americans were found to have the highest rate of homeownership and the lowest gap.

And though the 2008 recession reversed some of the progress made in the 2000s, the report noted that there has been some progress over the last few years. In 2022, the minority homeownership grew to 51.4% from 48.1% in 2019.