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DC area among smallest homeownership race gaps

WASHINGTON — White households nationwide continue to have a significantly higher homeownership rate than minority households, but the gap in Washington is among the smallest in the nation.

A report published by Apartment List said the homeownership rate in the D.C. area is 63.7 percent for white households, compared to 43.5 percent for black households and 43.4 percent for Hispanic households.

The homeownership rate in the D.C. area among Asian households is actually higher than white households, at 64.4 percent.

The Asian household homeownership rate is higher than white households in a total of 14 metro areas.

Based on those numbers, the overall homeownership gap between white households and minority households in Washington is 15.1 percent, the fourth-smallest in the nation.

Only Miami, San Diego, and Jacksonville, Florida, have a smaller homeownership gap.

Buffalo and Rochester, New York, have the largest homeownership gaps. In Buffalo, the homeownership gap is 40.5 percent in favor of white households. The gap is 37.1 percent in Rochester.

The D.C. area’s small homeownership gap is helped by the fact that D.C. is also one of the most racially diverse cities in the nation, ranking No. 7.

You can see Apartment List’s complete Racial Divide in Homeownership report on its website.

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