PROJECTForecasting State and National Trends in Household Formation and Homeownership

Rhode Island
Forecasting State Homeownership Trends

Trends in household formation and homeownership have important implications for states’ housing markets and broader economies. They also reveal who has benefited from homeownership and who has been shut out of this critical wealth-building tool. To better understand the past and future of household formation and homeownership in Rhode Island, we look at trends by age, race, and ethnicity. Our projections, using data from decennial censuses and the American Community Survey, show what will happen over the next two decades if current policies stay the same. For more details on the methodology, see our report.

Household Formation

We look at changes in the number of households (defined as one or more people who live in a housing unit) for four racial and ethnic groups: Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, and people of other races, which includes Asians, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and multiracial people (all of whom are non-Hispanic). We also examine household formation trends for people younger than 65 and people ages 65 and older.

Number of Households and Household Growth

Number of Households in Rhode Island, by Race or Ethnicity
 
  1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040
Total 377,061 408,584 413,590 413,181 419,337 412,040
White 345,373 351,785 339,250 316,249 298,210 266,658
Black 11,595 14,520 18,030 21,353 24,467 26,914
Hispanic 12,651 24,793 36,620 57,642 75,648 94,128
Other 7,442 17,486 19,690 17,938 21,012 24,339
  Household Growth: Rhode Island Household Growth: Nationwide
2010–2020 2020–2030 2030–2040 2010–2020 2020–2030 2030–2040
Total −0.1% 1.5% −1.7% 5.9% 6.4% 5.4%
White −6.8% −5.7% −10.6% 0.1% 0.5% −1.3%
Black 18.4% 14.6% 10.0% 9.9% 10.1% 8.8%
Hispanic 57.4% 31.2% 24.4% 22.1% 19.2% 17.3%
Other −8.9% 17.1% 15.8% 20.9% 20.0% 18.4%

Sources: Decennial censuses, the American Community Survey, and Urban Institute projections.
Notes: Values for 2020, 2030, and 2040 are projected values. The “Other” category includes Asians, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and multiracial people.

Number of Households in Rhode Island, by Age


 

Number of Households in Rhode Island, by Age, Race, and Ethnicity
 
  Younger than 65 65 and older
White Black Hispanic Other White Black Hispanic Other
1990 251,582 9,765 11,826 6,576 93,791 1,830 825 866
2000 259,837 12,700 23,163 15,371 91,948 1,820 1,630 2,115
2010 249,210 15,660 33,760 17,120 90,040 2,370 2,860 2,570
2020 209,723 17,449 50,780 15,299 106,525 3,904 6,862 2,638
2030 168,552 17,922 63,103 17,227 129,659 6,545 12,545 3,785
2040 144,249 18,729 73,880 20,467 122,409 8,184 20,249 3,872
Number of Households in the United States, by Age, Race, and Ethnicity
 
  Younger than 65 65 and older
White Black Hispanic Other White Black Hispanic Other
2000 60,344,232 9,972,344 8,293,773 4,728,999 18,748,904 1,835,658 928,629 627,564
2020 55,784,880 11,872,258 14,733,722 7,456,779 26,591,297 3,379,648 2,550,232 1,616,708
2040 48,524,107 13,051,680 19,825,205 10,817,807 33,236,589 5,553,598 6,026,735 3,088,951

Sources: Decennial censuses, the American Community Survey, and Urban Institute projections.
Notes: Values for 2020 and 2040 are projected values. The “Other” category includes Asians, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and multiracial people.

Household Racial and Ethnic Composition, by Age, in Rhode Island, and Nationwide

Sources: Decennial censuses, the American Community Survey, and Urban Institute projections.
Notes: Values for 2020, 2030, and 2040 are projected values. The “Other” category includes Asians, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and multiracial people.

Homeownership

We look at changes in homeownership for four racial and ethnic groups: Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, and people of other races, which includes Asians, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and multiracial people (all of whom are non-Hispanic). We also examine trends in the number of homeowners and renters younger than 65 and people 65 and older.

Rhode Island Homeownership Rates, by Race or Ethnicity
 
  1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040
Total 59.4% 60.1% 60.7% 62.3% 62.2% 61.4%
White 62.4% 65.1% 66.8% 70.2% 71.5% 72.5%
Black 26.0% 30.1% 32.8% 38.4% 38.7% 33.9%
Hispanic 21.9% 20.8% 27.2% 31.7% 36.0% 39.3%
Other 39.3% 38.5% 42.5% 48.9% 52.2% 55.0%
National Homeownership Rates, by Race or Ethnicity
 
  1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040
Total 65.3% 66.2% 65.1% 64.7% 63.6% 62.2%
White 70.1% 72.4% 72.2% 73.0% 72.5% 71.4%
Black 45.2% 46.3% 44.3% 41.9% 41.1% 40.6%
Hispanic 43.3% 45.7% 47.3% 49.0% 50.2% 51.3%
Other 53.7% 53.0% 56.3% 58.1% 57.9% 57.4%

Sources: Decennial censuses, the American Community Survey, and Urban Institute projections.
Notes: Values for 2020, 2030, and 2040 are projected values. The “Other” category includes Asians, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and multiracial people.

Homeowners and Renters, by Age, in Rhode Island and Nationwide

Rhode Island Homeownership Rates, by Age
 
  1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040
Younger than 65 58.6% 58.4% 58.5% 58.7% 50.6% 35.9%
65 and older 61.8% 65.4% 67.6% 69.5% 67.7% 67.0%
National Homeownership Rates, by Age
 
  1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040
Younger than 65 62.3% 63.0% 61.6% 59.5% 57.5% 56.5%
65 and older 75.8% 78.1% 77.5% 78.4% 76.0% 73.0%

Sources: Decennial censuses, the American Community Survey, and Urban Institute projections.
Note: Values for 2020, 2030, and 2040 are projected values.

Millions of Owners and Renters in Rhode Island and Nationwide, by Age

Sources: Decennial censuses, the American Community Survey, and Urban Institute projections.
Note: Values for 2020, 2030, and 2040 are projected values.

Research Areas Housing finance
Policy Centers Housing Finance Policy Center