Key Findings:
- Women have to save the longest to become a homeowner in Rhode Island, Kentucky and Hawaii.
- Women have the shortest savings period to become a homeowner in Vermont, West Virginia and Montana.
- Rhode Island, Kentucky and Oklahoma have the largest gender disparity in savings periods to become a homeowner.
- Vermont, Connecticut and California have the smallest gender disparity in savings it takes to buy a home.
However, overall, considering the expectations and financial pressures women are faced with, how much longer might it take for them to save enough for a home than it takes for men? This study combines U.S. Census income data with state-by-state real estate data to determine how long it takes women to afford a home in each state.
Saving up for real estate
The question remains, based on women’s income and the amount they might need to save for a down payment, how long would it take to have enough money to buy a home? To find out, ConsumerAffairs coupled the data above with the Americans’ average national savings percentages. The chart below shows how much estimated time it may take for a woman to save for a home in each state.
Vermont is the easiest place for a woman to afford buying a home, with the average woman needing to save for just five years, five months and 29 days for a down payment.
Women in Rhode Island likely have the hardest time: It could take them almost 30 years to buy a house. Although the median income of women in these two states is similar —$51,590 and $54,123, respectively—, as the median down payment for a house in Rhode Island is a whopping $58,621 higher than that in Vermont.
Along with being the most challenging state for women to save for a down payment, Rhode Island also has the most significant gender disparity regarding the time needed to save for a home. A woman would have to save for nearly six years longer than her male counterpart to buy a home in the state.
Kentucky and Oklahoma also have significant gender gaps in homebuying: It can take women four to five years longer than men to save for a home in these states.
On the other hand, Vermont has the smallest gender gap: It could take just under nine months longer for a woman to afford a home there than it would for a man. Connecticut and California also have relatively low gender disparity, with women needing to save for less than two years longer than men to afford a home. The gender disparity in Nevada, New York and Illinois was almost equally low.
To read the full analysis, including more charts and methodology, click here.