U.S. States Investing Most in Manufactured Housing
Note: This is the most recent release of our U.S. States Investing Most in Manufactured Housing study. To see data from previous years, please visit the Full Results section below.
After over two years of spiking real estate prices, mortgage rates, and rents, the housing affordability crisis in the U.S. is more apparent than ever. Policymakers, economic experts, and regular U.S. households have been searching for tools to alleviate the pressure of housing costs. Expanding manufactured housing is one possible solution.
The category of manufactured housing includes housing units that are prefabricated in a factory and then transported to their ultimate destinations. Because these units tend to have simple designs and materials that make them efficient to produce, they are often significantly less expensive than site-built homes. A 2023 report from the Manufactured Housing Institute found the average cost per square foot of a manufactured home was $85, roughly half of the $168 cost per square foot of a site-built home.
For lower- and middle-income families, this more affordable option has significant appeal. Currently, 21.2 million Americans live in manufactured homes, and manufactured homes represent around one out of every nine new homes constructed in the U.S. each year. Further, the quality of manufactured homes has increased as well, with better materials, greater energy efficiency, and improved designs.
Manufactured Housing Shipments Over Time
After reaching a new high in 2022, manufactured housing shipments have dropped significantly
After plummeting during the onset of the pandemic, manufactured home shipments rose to 122,000 per year, more than doubling in the span of a decade. However, with a backdrop of rising mortgage interest rates and stubborn inflation, manufactured home shipments have declined dramatically. As of June 2023, the annual shipment rate sat at just 87,000 homes—down nearly 30% since peaking in March 2022.
PROPERTY INSURANCE
While homeowner’s insurance will cover residential buildings like manufactured housing, commercial property insurance covers buildings owned or leased by businesses.
Manufactured Housing Price Growth
While far less expensive, manufactured homes have experienced similar price increases as site-built homes
While manufactured homes remain relatively low-cost, the growing demand for housing has pushed prices higher in recent years. Since 2014, the average sale price of a manufactured home has grown by 82.6%, while the median value across all homes climbed 102.1%. For both manufactured and site-built homes, most of this growth occurred in 2020 and 2021 before plateauing in 2022 amid rising interest rates.
Manufactured Housing Shipments by Location
Manufactured housing is most popular in the South
RELATED
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Manufactured housing varies in popularity across the U.S., but the South stands out for its higher concentration of manufactured homes. Fast-growing, high-population southern states like Texas, Florida, and North Carolina rank among the top states for total manufactured home shipments. But as a share of all new single-family homes, top locations include lower-income states like Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, and West Virginia, whose residents may be more drawn to manufactured homes as an affordable option.
Below is a complete breakdown of all 50 states. The report was produced by researchers at Construction Coverage. The researchers analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Zillow. For more information, see the methodology section.
States With the Most New Manufactured Homes
| Top States | Total* |
|---|---|
| 1. Texas | 19,865 |
| 2. Florida | 8,967 |
| 3. Alabama | 7,312 |
| 4. North Carolina | 6,213 |
| 5. Michigan | 4,968 |
| 6. South Carolina | 4,851 |
| 7. Louisiana | 4,586 |
| 8. Georgia | 4,263 |
| 9. California | 4,022 |
| 10. Kentucky | 3,627 |
| 11. Mississippi | 3,535 |
| 12. Tennessee | 3,485 |
| 13. Arizona | 2,763 |
| 14. Oklahoma | 2,570 |
| 15. Indiana | 2,359 |
| Bottom States | Total* |
|---|---|
| 1. Hawaii | 9 |
| 2. Rhode Island | 21 |
| 3. Alaska | 32 |
| 4. Connecticut | 170 |
| 5. Vermont | 174 |
| 6. Maryland | 179 |
| 7. Massachusetts | 198 |
| 8. Nebraska | 271 |
| 9. Wyoming | 282 |
| 10. Utah | 335 |
| 11. North Dakota | 340 |
| 12. New Hampshire | 348 |
| 13. South Dakota | 355 |
| 14. Montana | 423 |
| 15. Delaware | 424 |
*Total manufactured home shipments
States With the Highest Percentage of New Manufactured Homes
| Top States | Share* |
|---|---|
| 1. Mississippi | 33.5% |
| 2. Alabama | 31.4% |
| 3. Kentucky | 29.3% |
| 4. West Virginia | 26.6% |
| 5. Louisiana | 25.0% |
| 6. Michigan | 24.9% |
| 7. Oklahoma | 19.0% |
| 8. New Mexico | 19.0% |
| 9. Maine | 16.4% |
| 10. Arkansas | 15.8% |
| 11. New York | 15.6% |
| 12. North Dakota | 14.8% |
| 13. Oregon | 14.1% |
| 14. Kansas | 13.3% |
| 15. Wyoming | 12.8% |
| Bottom States | Share* |
|---|---|
| 1. Hawaii | 0.4% |
| 2. Utah | 1.7% |
| 3. Maryland | 1.8% |
| 4. Rhode Island | 2.1% |
| 5. Massachusetts | 3.1% |
| 6. New Jersey | 3.9% |
| 7. Colorado | 4.9% |
| 8. Idaho | 5.0% |
| 9. Nebraska | 5.1% |
| 10. Nevada | 5.4% |
| 11. Minnesota | 5.6% |
| 12. Virginia | 5.8% |
| 13. California | 5.9% |
| 14. Florida | 6.3% |
| 15. Wisconsin | 6.4% |
*Manufactured homes as a share of all new single-family homes
Methodology
The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Manufactured Housing Survey (MHS), the U.S. Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey, and Zillow’s Home Value Index data. To determine the states investing most in manufactured housing, researchers at Construction Coverage calculated the total manufactured home shipments as a share of all new single-family homes in 2022 (the sum of manufactured home shipments and single-family housing units authorized by building permits). In the event of a tie, the state with the greater total manufactured home shipments was ranked higher.
References
- U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2023, July 26). Average Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States [Data set]. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ASPUS
- Freddie Mac. (2023, September 14). 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States [Data set]. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, September 13). Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average [Data set]. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUUR0000SEHA
- Manufactured Housing Institute. (2023, September 18). About Manufactured Homes. https://www.manufacturedhousing.org/about-manufactured-homes/
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2022, November). Manufactured Housing Survey [Data set]. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/mhs.html
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2023). Building Permits Survey [Data set]. https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/index.html
- Zillow. (2023). Home Value Index [Data set]. https://www.zillow.com/research/data/
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