College Grads More Likely to be Homeowners

Despite student loan debt being a hurdle for many potential homebuyers, those with a college degree are more likely to be homeowners than those who don’t have one.

According to Point2Homes, 40% of homeowners in the U.S. have received a bachelor’s degree or higher and 30% have some college experience and/or an associate’s degree, meaning 70% of all homeowners have had some type of education beyond high school. Twenty-three percent of homeowners in the country have completed high school and 7% of homeowners have not finished high school. The report found that this trend has increased over the past 12 years. The number of homeowners without a high school diploma has fallen 30% since 2010, while the number of homeowners with only a high school education fell 13%. Yet, the number of homeowners with a bachelor’s degree has grown 18%.

The median income of someone in the U.S. with a bachelor’s degree is $56,150, compared to someone who has not finished high school, whose median income is $25,350, making homeownership more attainable for those with a college degree. According to realtor.com®, the current median list price for a home is $405,000, a record high. In Pennsylvania, the current median sales price for all properties closed in March was $197,787, according to a report prepared for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®.

Additionally, what type of degree someone obtains tends to impact whether someone becomes a homeowner or not. For example, 82% of people with a bachelor’s degree in education or industrial/technology are homeowners, as are 81% of those with an agriculture degree and 80% of people who graduated with a health degree. Comparatively, only 67% of people with an IT or an art degree are homeowners and only 68% of those with a communications or mass media degree are.