The short answer
- About one homeowner in four pays HOA or condo dues. The Census Bureau counted 21.6 million of 86.6 million owner households in 2024, at a national median of 35 a month.
- The national median is the wrong number to compare with. It folds in condo fees. In six of the ten states with the largest share of homeowners paying dues (Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, South Carolina and Texas), the median was $76 to $99, and about half or more paid under 00.
- Before the budget vote, compare your dues with your state's and your county's figures, then say what your dues buy that a lower number would not.
Every fall, somebody at the budget meeting asks the question: "Are our dues high?"
Until last year, there was no federal count to answer it with. Now there is: in 2024 the Census Bureau's American Community Survey asked homeowners, for the first time, about homeowners association fees as well as condo fees, and in six of the ten states where dues are most common, the median came back under
00 a month. The first results came out in September 2025.We pulled them for every state. Here is what the count says, why the headline number misleads, your state's figure, and how to find your county's in five minutes.
The count: What the Census asked in 2024
The survey has asked about condominium fees for years. Starting with 2024, the Census Bureau revised those questions to cover homeowners association status and fees too, with language stressing that "only required fees should be reported." It also published two new tables: one showing how many homes pay each range of fees (B25142) and one showing the median fee (B25143).
21.6 million of the nation's 86.6 million owner households paid condo or HOA fees in 2024, about one in four. — U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates
The national median was
35 a month. About 5.6 million homes paid less than $50, and about 3 million paid more than $500.One more change: the Census Bureau now counts HOA fees inside "selected monthly owner costs," its measure of what it costs to own a home. In the government's own math, your dues are now part of the cost of owning a home in your community.
The trap: Why 35 is the wrong comparison
The Census question puts condo fees and HOA fees in one number, and the Bureau says the two cannot be told apart. A condo fee can cover a roof, an elevator and a building's insurance. Single-family HOA dues more often cover an entrance, common areas, perhaps a pool. Those are different budgets.
You can see it in the states. New York's median was $739 a month, and 64% of the homes paying a fee there paid over $500. Here is every state, starting with the ten where the largest share of homeowners pay dues at all:
| State | Owner households paying a fee | Median monthly fee | Paying under 00 | Paying over $500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 51% | $95 | 52% | 3% |
| Arizona | 45% | $98 | 51% | 3% |
| Florida | 44% | $230 | 29% | 23% |
| Colorado | 42% | $99 | 50% | 8% |
| Hawaii | 42% | $470 | 27% | 48% |
| Delaware | 41% | $85 | 53% | 5% |
| District of Columbia | 39% | $505 | 2% | 50% |
| Maryland | 38% | 04 | 49% | 10% |
| South Carolina | 34% | $94 | 52% | 9% |
| Texas | 34% | $76 | 58% | 12% |
| Virginia | 34% | 23 | 41% | 8% |
| Georgia | 33% | $99 | 50% | 12% |
| Idaho | 31% | $61 | 68% | 6% |
| North Carolina | 29% | $79 | 57% | 5% |
| Washington | 26% | $82 | 55% | 14% |
| Missouri | 25% | $54 | 61% | 7% |
| California | 24% | $278 | 18% | 20% |
| Illinois | 24% | $237 | 30% | 15% |
| Utah | 22% | 35 | 39% | 4% |
| Indiana | 22% | $61 | 61% | 5% |
| Kansas | 21% | $65 | 60% | 10% |
| New Jersey | 20% | $300 | 18% | 18% |
| Oklahoma | 20% | $48 | 65% | 6% |
| Montana | 19% | $53 | 63% | 2% |
| Tennessee | 19% | $79 | 57% | 4% |
| Nebraska | 18% | $54 | 63% | 4% |
| Michigan | 18% | 25 | 47% | 7% |
| Alabama | 17% | $52 | 66% | 6% |
| Ohio | 17% | 24 | 46% | 7% |
| Massachusetts | 17% | $376 | 9% | 29% |
| Oregon | 16% | $88 | 54% | 9% |
| Alaska | 16% | 35 | 43% | 12% |
| Minnesota | 16% | $269 | 23% | 14% |
| Connecticut | 15% | $351 | 12% | 22% |
| New Mexico | 15% | $61 | 65% | 3% |
| New Hampshire | 15% | $316 | 22% | 10% |
| Louisiana | 15% | $61 | 60% | 6% |
| Kentucky | 15% | $70 | 55% | 5% |
| New York | 14% | $739 | 8% | 64% |
| Mississippi | 13% | $53 | 67% | 6% |
| Wyoming | 13% | $52 | 67% | 7% |
| Pennsylvania | 13% | 48 | 37% | 10% |
| Arkansas | 12% | $47 | 67% | 4% |
| West Virginia | 11% | $48 | 73% | 4% |
| Iowa | 11% | 28 | 44% | 4% |
| Vermont | 11% | $221 | 34% | 11% |
| Wisconsin | 10% | 84 | 38% | 7% |
| South Dakota | 10% | $86 | 52% | 2% |
| Rhode Island | 10% | $314 | 18% | 14% |
| Maine | 8% | 69 | 40% | 9% |
| North Dakota | 8% | 57 | 33% | 2% |
| United States | 25% | 35 | 42% | 14% |
Rebel HOA's calculation from U.S. Census Bureau tables B25142 and B25143, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates. Every figure is a survey estimate with a margin of error, wider in smaller states and where fees run high: plus or minus $44 on the District of Columbia's median, $43 on Maine's, and $25 on South Dakota's and Alaska's.
Look at the top ten, ranked on the unrounded shares. Counting the District of Columbia, they run from Nevada to Texas; without it, Virginia (
23) is tenth. Either way, six had a median under 00, with about half of paying households under 00 a month. Hawaii ($470) and the District of Columbia ($505), where about half of paying households paid over $500, look more like New York than Nevada. Florida ($230, with 23% paying over $500) sits in between. Georgia ($99) and North Carolina ($79), just behind, follow the six.In six of the ten states where HOA dues are most common, the median was under
00 a month.
So a
10 monthly assessment in a South Carolina subdivision is not "below average" because it is under 35. It is above the state's median of $94. Compare like with like.
The pattern: Owners without a mortgage pay more
One more finding is easy to miss. Nationally, homeowners with a mortgage paid a median of
20, and those without one paid 84. In our pull, no state had a higher median for owners with a mortgage. The Census Bureau suggests the gap may reflect people downsizing or moving to communities with more amenities. In Florida it was 74 against $331.
The same table reports both medians. If most of your community's homes are paid off, compare with the without-mortgage figure.
Worth knowing Most state medians carry margins of error of a few dollars; small states and counties carry wider ones. Treat a gap of a few dollars as a tie.
The lookup: Find your county in five minutes
The state is a start. Your county is closer to your community. The 2024 one-year figures are published for every county with 65,000 people or more; for a smaller county, use your state.
How to find your county's number on data.census.gov.
- Search: Type B25143 into the search box at data.census.gov.
- Table: Open "Median Monthly Homeowners Association and/or Condominium Fee (Dollars) by Mortgage Status."
- Geography: Use the geography filter to pick County, then your state and your county.
- Range: Repeat with B25142 to see how many homes pay each range of fees.
Two examples from our own pull. In Greenville County, South Carolina, about 44% of owner households paid a fee, at a median of $71. In Wake County, North Carolina, about 60% paid one, at a median of $80. Greenville sits well under South Carolina's $94. Wake sits at North Carolina's median, with twice the state's share of homes paying a fee. Neither fact shows up in a state figure, which is why the county is worth the extra five minutes.
The sentence: What to say at the budget meeting
A median is not a target. A community with low dues and a reserve fund that cannot cover the next roof has not won anything. It has deferred the bill.
What percentage your reserve fund should be funded at
So bring three numbers to the meeting, and one sentence:
- Our dues, as a monthly figure (annual dues divided by 12).
- Our state's and county's median, and the share paying under 00.
- The part of our dues that goes to the reserve fund.
Then say it plainly: "Our dues are $X a month. The Census median for our county was $Y in 2024. Here is what ours pays for that a lower number would not."
The Census can count what a household pays. It cannot count what the dues buy, or the hours a volunteer gives to keep it all running. That part is the board's to explain, and now it has a number to explain it against.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median HOA fee by state? It varies more than tenfold. In 2024 the medians ran from $47 a month in Arkansas and $48 in Oklahoma and West Virginia to $470 in Hawaii and $739 in New York, with the District of Columbia at $505. In the states where dues are most common, most medians were under
00. The table in this article lists every state.What is the median HOA fee in the United States? The Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey put the median monthly condo or HOA fee at
35. Households with a mortgage paid a median of 20, and those without one paid 84.How many homeowners pay HOA fees? About 21.6 million of 86.6 million owner households paid condo or HOA fees in 2024, roughly one in four.
Which states have the most homeowners paying HOA fees? Nevada (51%), Arizona (45%) and Florida (44%) had the highest shares. Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Maine and North Dakota were around 8 to 10%.
Does the Census separate HOA fees from condo fees? No. The 2024 question covers both, and the Census Bureau says the two cannot be told apart in its data.