Racial Equity

Decreasing


Homeownership Rate, by Race/Ethnicity, 2017-21

What does this measure?

The number of owner-occupied units (not rented) as a percent of all occupied units (not vacant) for various racial and ethnic groups.

Why is this important?

Historically, members of some racial and ethnic groups have suffered discrimination in buying homes and accessing home mortgages. A home is a vital financial asset for a family and an investment in both the local neighborhood and surrounding community.

How does our county compare?

In 2017-21, homeownership rates in Lancaster County were highest among white residents, at 73%, followed by Asian residents at 60%, Hispanic residents at 45%, and African American residents at 35%. The racial/ethnic disparity follows a similar pattern to state and national rates, but is more pronounced in Lancaster, with ownership by African Americans and Hispanics about 8 and 4 points respectively below national levels.

Since 2000, rates of homeownership have declined by 3 percentage points for both Asians and African Americans, while rates for Hispanics have increased by 12 points.

In the City of Lancaster, homeownership levels are below county and state levels, with 45% of Asians, 30% of African Americans, 41% of Hispanics and 53% of whites owning homes.

Among comparison counties, Lancaster and Chester have the highest homeownership rates among Hispanics, both at 45%. Homeownership among African Americans in Lancaster County is lower than in Berks, Chester and York counties (all at 43%), on par with Dauphin, and above Cumberland and Lebanon.

Why do these disparities exist?

A variety of research has shown how disparities in homeownership are connected to racial inequities within systems beyond housing, including financial services, labor market and intergenerational wealth. Historic practices including redlining, exclusionary mortgage practices and restrictive covenants barring property from being owned by members of specific groups directly locked people out of homeownership. These had intergenerational effects when people of color were unable to benefit from wealth transfers of home equity as white homebuyers can. Since Black and Latino households generally have lower wages and wealth accumulation, they have less resources for down payments and higher debt to income ratios. With lower credit scores than other racial/ethnic groups, communities of color may be less likely to qualify for mortgages as underwriting standards increase. Many in the Black and Latino community may lack information about the home buying process and choose to stay renters. Discrimination during the home buying process also influences whether people of color buy a house. Researchers have found that during the search process, people of color were shown fewer houses and provided less information than whites.

Notes about the data

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.

Homeownership Rate, by Race/Ethnicity, 2017-21
AsianBlack or African AmericanHispanicWhite
Pennsylvania60%43%44%74%
Lancaster County60%35%45%73%
Lancaster City45%**30%*41%53%
Lancaster County Boroughs
Adamstown borough0%***7%***0%***87%
Akron borough100%***N/A***8%***58%
Christiana boroughN/A***27%***N/A***62%
Columbia borough100%***32%***19%***60%
Denver township100%***100%***100%***73%
East Petersburg borough100%***0%***82%***83%
Elizabethtown borough0%***0%***8%***53%
Ephrata borough0%***0%***8%***53%
Lititz borough100%***N/A***49%***71%
Manheim boroughN/A***N/A***100%***68%
Marietta boroughN/A***19%***43%***68%
Millersville borough0%***0%***50%***58%*
Mount Joy boroughN/A***43%***10%***64%
Mountville borough100%***100%***100%***79%*
New Holland borough0%***69%***85%***79%
Quarryville borough60%***0%***20%***58%
Strasburg boroughN/A***N/A***5%***75%
Terre Hill boroughN/A***N/A***71%***59%*
Lancaster County Townships
Bart townshipN/A***N/A***100%***70%
Brecknock townshipN/A***N/A***N/A***78%
Caernarvon township100%***N/A***N/A***78%
Clay townshipN/A***N/A***32%***78%
Colerain townshipN/A***100%***N/A***77%
Conestoga township100%***0%***47%***89%
Conoy townshipN/A***N/A***65%***93%
Drumore townshipN/A***N/A***N/A***73%
Earl township0%***N/A***100%***65%
East Cocalico township100%***0%***57%***84%
East Donegal townshipN/A***39%***45%***79%
East Drumore township100%***45%***0%***72%
East Earl township100%***0%***N/A***81%
East Hempfield township35%***22%***43%***77%
East Lampeter township46%***34%**42%*66%
Eden townshipN/A***N/A***N/A***85%
Elizabeth township27%***N/A***100%***90%
Ephrata township47%***0%***11%***72%
Fulton townshipN/A***63%***0%***79%*
Lancaster township75%**65%***58%*73%
Leacock townshipN/A***0%***N/A***70%
Little Britain townshipN/A***100%***N/A***83%
Manheim township82%*48%***61%*75%
Manor township100%***40%***67%***78%
Martic townshipN/A***N/A***41%***92%
Mount Joy township100%***27%***66%***76%
Paradise townshipN/A***11%***26%***70%
Penn township100%***N/A***100%***80%
Pequea township100%***100%***43%***67%
Providence township100%***N/A***0%***81%
Rapho township100%***0%***100%***82%
Sadsbury townshipN/A***100%***40%***73%
Salisbury township100%***62%***53%***78%
Strasburg townshipN/A***N/A***N/A***84%*
Upper Leacock township30%***0%***11%***67%
Warwick township0%***68%***67%***79%
West Cocalico townshipN/A***100%***100%***90%
West Donegal townshipN/A***100%***100%***66%
West Earl township100%***N/A***83%***80%
West Hempfield township100%***37%***44%***87%
West Lampeter township26%***74%***60%***70%
Berks County64%43%42%76%
Chester County66%43%45%78%
Cumberland County58%22%*38%74%
Dauphin County65%35%31%*72%
Lebanon County85%*28%**39%74%
York County66%43%39%78%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%. The Census Bureau asks people to identify their race (white, African-American, etc.) separate from their ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic). So the totals for these categories cannot be added together, as people show up in both a racial and ethnic group.




Number of Homeowners by Race/Ethnicity, 2017-21
AsianBlack or African AmericanHispanicWhite
Pennsylvania91,333229,229131,0693,114,262
Lancaster County2,5732,4668,195133,670
Lancaster City296**867*3,0357,026
Lancaster County Boroughs
Adamstown borough0***3***0***628
Akron borough15***0***8***952
Christiana borough0***3***0***199
Columbia borough14***101***134***2,319
Denver township45***13***61***993
East Petersburg borough39***0***183***1,332
Elizabethtown borough0***0***14***2,313
Ephrata borough0***0***41***2,931
Lititz borough6***0***60***2,557
Manheim borough0***0***72***1,208
Marietta borough0***11***16***633
Millersville borough0***0***80***1,162*
Mount Joy borough0***65***20***2,084
Mountville borough37***93***46***937*
New Holland borough0***54***76***1,510
Quarryville borough12***0***15***549
Strasburg borough0***0***4***874
Terre Hill borough0***0***5***213*
Lancaster County Townships
Bart township0***0***2***620
Brecknock township0***0***0***1,970
Caernarvon township13***0***0***1,033
Clay township0***0***21***1,913
Colerain township0***7***0***878
Conestoga township37***0***17***1,347
Conoy township0***0***63***1,215
Drumore township0***0***0***583
Earl township0***0***18***1,601
East Cocalico township23***0***99***3,046
East Donegal township0***24***31***2,454
East Drumore township19***13***0***955
East Earl township30***0***0***1,854
East Hempfield township143***69***367***7,637
East Lampeter township143***165**398*3,247
Eden township0***0***0***546
Elizabeth township12***0***13***1,239
Ephrata township21***0***17***2,676
Fulton township0***12***0***623*
Lancaster township291**365***960*4,062
Leacock township0***0***0***1,070
Little Britain township0***13***0***1,236
Manheim township592*153***905*11,740
Manor township194***105***452***6,124
Martic township0***0***20***1,660
Mount Joy township40***12***92***2,854
Paradise township0***5***29***1,145
Penn township127***0***40***3,151
Pequea township16***4***83***1,381
Providence township55***0***0***2,018
Rapho township49***0***45***3,915
Sadsbury township0***5***19***687
Salisbury township8***34***43***2,381
Strasburg township0***0***0***1,116*
Upper Leacock township39***0***21***1,706
Warwick township0***48***144***5,567
West Cocalico township0***26***39***2,228
West Donegal township0***18***39***2,262
West Earl township95***0***104***2,111
West Hempfield township128***55***153***5,022
West Lampeter township34***123***91***4,403
Berks County1,3322,89811,478101,097
Chester County6,8974,1914,891132,554
Cumberland County2,403581*1,18468,193
Dauphin County2,7626,9602,750*61,209
Lebanon County416*316**2,21635,987
York County1,3943,8513,995123,567

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%. The Census Bureau asks people to identify their race (white, African-American, etc.) separate from their ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic). So the totals for these categories cannot be added together, as people show up in both a racial and ethnic group.




INDICATORS


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