Homeowners Without a Car: The 2.9 Million Households Who Own a Home but No Vehicle (2024)
Most own the home outright and nearly half are 65 or older. A look at the carless homeowners the "carless means poor renter" story misses, from Census microdata.
Key findings
- In 2024 1-Year, about 2,889,598 owner-occupied U.S. homes (±36,172) had no vehicle available, roughly 3.33% of all owned homes.
- This upends the usual picture of a carless household as a poor renter: these households own their homes, and 58.2% own them free and clear, with no mortgage.
- Nearly half, 48.5%, are headed by someone 65 or older, a mix of seniors who have aged out of driving and owners in places where a car is optional.
- Their median household income was $47,311, versus $101,322 for homeowners overall.
- By count they concentrate where transit is dense or cities are old: New York, California, Florida lead.
This counts owner-occupied homes with no vehicle available, using the 2024 1-Year American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample. "Owner-occupied" means the household owns the home, with or without a mortgage (Census tenure codes 1 and 2); "no vehicle available" is the Census measure VEH = 0, covering cars, vans, and small trucks kept at home for use. Estimates are weighted with the housing-unit weight (WGTP). Income is median household income in constant 2024 dollars (Census factor ADJINC), and is a point estimate of the weighted distribution.
Owned homes with no car, 2024 1-Year
Where carless homeowners concentrate
| Owner-occupied homes with no car | Carless owner-occupied homes |
|---|---|
| New York | 452,168 |
| California | 237,851 |
| Florida | 197,146 |
| Pennsylvania | 172,478 |
| Texas | 163,490 |
| Illinois | 141,159 |
| Ohio | 107,226 |
| Michigan | 96,420 |
| New Jersey | 83,316 |
| North Carolina | 74,049 |
| Georgia | 63,537 |
| Indiana | 62,254 |
Bars are point estimates; the table lists margins of error and the share of each state’s owned homes.
Leading states
| State | Carless owned homes | Share of owned homes | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 452,168 ± 14,152 | 10.63% | 4,351 |
| California | 237,851 ± 9,367 | 3.08% | 2,730 |
| Florida | 197,146 ± 8,301 | 3.17% | 2,027 |
| Pennsylvania | 172,478 ± 9,510 | 4.64% | 1,728 |
| Texas | 163,490 ± 7,809 | 2.29% | 1,857 |
| Illinois | 141,159 ± 8,115 | 4.08% | 1,413 |
| Ohio | 107,226 ± 6,536 | 3.20% | 1,171 |
| Michigan | 96,420 ± 6,788 | 3.17% | 1,050 |
| New Jersey | 83,316 ± 5,152 | 3.67% | 890 |
| North Carolina | 74,049 ± 5,782 | 2.46% | 807 |
| Georgia | 63,537 ± 4,370 | 2.26% | 749 |
| Indiana | 62,254 ± 5,782 | 3.17% | 689 |
Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level, from 80 replicate weights. Sample is the unweighted number of carless owned homes surveyed in each state.
Data Sources & Methodology
The figures on this page are computed directly from the source data below. Narrative text accompanies the figures but never generates them.
American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)
- Publisher:
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Vintage:
- 2024 1-Year
- Access:
- BigQuery
- Cadence:
- annual
De-identified individual person and housing records from the American Community Survey, the Census Bureau’s largest household survey. The 1-year PUMS file lets analysts compute custom estimates for demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics down to the Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) level.
The ACS is a continuous survey that samples households throughout the year. The 2024 1-year PUMS file is a sample of de-identified person and housing records collected over calendar year 2024, representing the resident population of the United States.
Every record carries a sampling weight (PWGTP for persons, WGTP for housing units) that expands the sample to population and housing-unit totals. All statistics on this page are weighted estimates; any unweighted record counts are shown only to convey sample size.
Margins of error are computed from the 80 replicate weights supplied with the PUMS file using the Census Bureau’s successive-difference replication method, and are reported at the 90% confidence level unless stated otherwise.
Sub-state estimates use Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), statistical areas of at least 100,000 residents. The 2020-vintage PUMA boundaries apply to 2022 and later ACS data.
- PUMS is a sample of roughly one percent of the population, so every estimate carries sampling error; small subgroups and small geographies have wider margins of error.
- Figures are survey estimates, not a complete count, and can differ from administrative records or the full ACS tabulations.
- Dollar amounts reflect the survey year and are not adjusted for inflation across vintages unless explicitly noted.
- PUMA boundaries are redrawn after each decennial census, which breaks strict geographic comparability across the boundary change.
How these figures were produced
- Estimate type:
- Weighted survey estimate (housing-unit level)
- Weighting:
- WGTP (housing-unit weight)
- Confidence level:
- 90%
- Error estimation:
- Successive-difference replication over 80 replicate weights
Suggested citation
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 1-Year American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). Analysis by Matt George, itsmattgeorge.com. Retrieved 2026-10-15.