What owner-occupied means in Census housing data
A home is owner-occupied when an owner or co-owner lives in it, even if it has a mortgage or is not fully paid for. The label describes who occupies the home, not whether it is debt-free.
A home whose owner lives elsewhere is not owner-occupied simply because someone owns it. It may be renter-occupied or vacant, depending on its actual occupancy and status.
Why it matters for value tables
The median owner-occupied value describes the owner-occupied stock covered by that measure. It does not describe all housing, homes listed for sale, or what one particular home would sell for today. The Census value is respondent-reported.
In the study, ACS B25077 supplies median value and B25075 supplies value-band counts. Read them with the sample flags and published margins of error, rather than using a single median as an appraisal.
See the Census Bureau's 2024 ACS definitions, Tenure and Value sections and the owner home-value study.
These are ACS 2020-2024 five-year survey estimates, not current prices or listings. A ZCTA is not a USPS delivery ZIP and can cross county lines. The selected ZCTAs are assigned by largest land-area share; their grouped figures are not complete countywide estimates. Small bases and sampling error can make close comparisons misleading.
See the 132-ZCTA selection method, estimate limits and downloadable datasets.