Here’s Where Home Prices Increased the Most in the Last Year

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By Trevor Wheelwright

Aug 02, 2021

3 min read

Unfortunately for potential homebuyers in the US, the average price of a single-family home increased by 12.4% and the average one-bedroom home’s price increased by 10.9%.¹

Between record-low interest rates and pandemic-related shifts, the US faces a housing crisis that can be summed up by increased demand and low inventory.

To determine how much housing prices have increased in each state, we compared single-family and one-bedroom home values from May 2020 to May 2021 using the Zillow Home Value Index.

How much housing prices have changed during the pandemic

Single-family home price increases

The average cost of a single-family home in 2020 was $267,726, but in 2021, the average cost increased to $301,855—that’s a difference of about $34,000 (or half a year’s median salary). Nationwide, single-family home price increases ranged from 3.2% to 27% (yikes!).

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Where did single-family home prices increase the most?

Rank	State	Average single-family home price (5/31/2020)	Average single-family home price (5/31/2021)	% change
1	Idaho	$304,490	$389,218	27.8%
2	Arizona	$280,994	$344,718	22.7%
3	Utah	$373,277	$450,745	20.8%
4	Connecticut	$263,844	$311,309	18.0%
5	Maine	$255,447	$299,219	17.1%
6	Washington	$430,409	$503,609	17.0%
7	New Hampshire	$306,117	$357,318	16.7%
8	Rhode Island	$314,195	$365,545	16.3%
9	Montana	$301,773	$350,230	16.1%
10	California	$579,242	$668,300	15.4%

A total of 38 states faced single-family home price percentage increases in the double digits, and 3 states faced an over 20% increase: Idaho, Arizona, and Utah.
Some western states and states on the East Coast saw some of the highest increases, but Idaho’s single-family home prices increased the most by 27.8% year over year.
Washington, California, and Massachusetts, which have some of the highest home prices in the US, also saw a significant increase in single-family home prices.

Where did single-family home prices increase the least?

Rank	State	Average single-family home price (5/31/2020)	Average single-family home price (5/31/2021)	% change
51	Alaska	$290,740	$300,063	3.2%
50	North Dakota	$234,798	$245,014	4.4%
49	Wyoming	$258,001	$269,791	4.6%
48	District of Columbia	$649,588	$685,934	5.6%
47	Louisiana	$174,608	$185,376	6.2%
46	Iowa	$154,638	$164,388	6.3%
45	West Virginia	$109,699	$116,902	6.6%
44	Mississippi	$130,776	$140,771	7.6%
43	Hawaii	$661,223	$718,095	8.6%
42	South Dakota	$218,722	$238,942	9.2%

● Alaska saw only a 3.2% increase in single-family home prices, the lowest in the nation.

● Only 13 states managed to keep housing price increases under 10% year to year; only 3 states saw less than 5% increases: Alaska, North Dakota, and Wyoming.

● Despite having one of the most expensive average home prices in the US, Washington DC saw one of the smallest single-family home price increases at 5.6% (the fourth lowest in the US).

While housing prices increased everywhere, some states’ single-family home prices fluctuated far more than their one-bedroom home prices. This may reflect inventory and demographic demands.

For example, single-family homes in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and California increased by nearly 15%, while one-bedroom homes increased by 10% or less—meaning that these states had more families moving in with fewer homes to supply the demand.

One-bedroom home price increases

For potential buyers looking at one-bedroom homes (which are cheaper in every state except New York), prices increased anywhere from 0.5% to 23.7%. In total, 31 states saw double-digit price increases for single-bedroom homes.

Where did one-bedroom home prices increase the most?

Rank	State	Average one-bedroom home price (5/31/2020)	Average one-bedroom home price (5/31/2021)	% change
1	Idaho	$215,479	$266,611	23.7%
2	Arizona	$152,318	$184,967	21.4%
3	Utah	$261,810	$308,295	17.8%
4	Montana	$213,006	$249,748	17.2%
5	Connecticut	$117,444	$136,905	16.6%
6	New Hampshire	$151,607	$175,504	15.8%
7	Maine	$187,030	$216,361	15.7%
8	Rhode Island	$198,435	$228,622	15.2%
9	New Mexico	$152,460	$175,286	15.0%
10	Ohio	$80,988	$92,532	14.3%

Idaho, Arizona, and Utah had the highest price increases for both one-bedroom homes and single-family homes. Along with Montana and New Mexico, these western states’ prices skyrocketed over the past year.
The East Coast also had plenty of high price increases in states like Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island.

Where did one-bedroom home prices increase the least?

Rank	State	Average single-family home price (5/31/2020)	Average single-family home price (5/31/2021)	% change
51	North Dakota	$114,972	$115,536	0.5%
50	District of Columbia	$410,856	$419,230	2.0%
49	Hawaii	$405,335	$417,800	3.1%
48	Louisiana	$128,560	$134,035	4.3%
47	New York	$361,488	$379,391	5.0%
46	Illinois	$149,476	$157,799	5.6%
45	Wyoming	$175,237	$186,227	6.3%
44	West Virginia	$59,542	$63,620	6.8%
43	Minnesota	$158,352	$169,525	7.1%
42	Iowa	$81,795	$87,640	9.2%

Fortunately for folks looking to buy a one-bedroom home in North Dakota, the housing market changed very little, with a 0.5% increase in prices.
With some surprise on our end, DC, Hawaii, and Louisiana all saw less than 5% increases for one-bedroom houses.
New York’s one-bedroom prices may not have increased by as much as others, but you could buy a single-family home in the Empire State for a lower price.

Whether you’re buying or selling, it’s always a question of where you’re going to move next that ultimately determines whether you should wait it out or take the leap with homeownership.

If you can rent for far less while staying in the city you love, or if you can work remotely and pay far less to own a home somewhere else, it may be worth it to sell. But for a lot of prospective buyers, they may be out of the market altogether—at least until more homes are built, vacated, or otherwise made available.

Home price increases in the last year

Rank	State	Last year’s average single-family home price (5/31/2020)	This year’s average single-family home price (5/31/2021)	Percentage change
1	Idaho	$304,490	$389,218	27.8%
2	Arizona	$280,994	$344,718	22.7%
3	Utah	$373,277	$450,745	20.8%
4	Connecticut	$263,844	$311,309	18.0%
5	Maine	$255,447	$299,219	17.1%
6	Washington	$430,409	$503,609	17.0%
7	New Hampshire	$306,117	$357,318	16.7%
8	Rhode Island	$314,195	$365,545	16.3%
9	Montana	$301,773	$350,230	16.1%
10	California	$579,242	$668,30015.4%	15.4%
11	Oregon	$380,163	$437,715	15.1%
12	New Jersey	$348,473	$400,089	14.8%
13	Massachusetts	$442,833	$508,232	14.8%
14	New Mexico	$213,803	$244,606	14.4%
15	Colorado	$419,532	$479,127	14.2%
16	Nevada	$315,341	$358,949	13.8%
17	Pennsylvania	$201,273	$228,885	13.7%
18	North Carolina	$214,059	$243,319	13.7%
19	Ohio	$157,641	$178,863	13.5%
20	Georgia	$212,754	$241,218	13.4%
21	Delaware	$267,811	$303,194	13.2%
22	Maryland	$320,520	$362,347	13.0%
23	Michigan	$181,705	$205,353	13.0%
24	Missouri	$169,217	$191,107	12.9%
25	Tennessee	$200,657	$226,456	12.9%
26	Florida	$257,053	$289,799	12.7%
27	Texas	$214,504	$241,101	12.4%
28	Wisconsin	$201,124	$226,030	12.4%
29	Indiana	$162,911	$182,770	12.2%
30	South Carolina	$198,363	$220,940	11.4%
31	Alabama	$151,295	$167,810	10.9%
32	New York	$328,554	$364,328	10.9%
33	Virginia	$291,974	$323,717	10.9%
34	Nebraska	$183,888	$203,708	10.8%
35	Kansas	$158,836	$175,459	10.5%
36	Minnesota	$269,392	$297,253	10.3%
37	Vermont	$266,924	$294,324	10.3%
38	Illinois	$208,524	$229,416	10.0%
39	Kentucky	$151,935	$167,021	9.9%
40	Arkansas	$134,120	$146,996	9.6%
41	Oklahoma	$136,241	$148,986	9.4%
42	South Dakota	$218,722	$238,942	9.2%
43	Hawaii	$661,223	$718,095	8.6%
44	Mississippi	$130,776	$140,771	7.6%
45	West Virginia	$109,699	$116,902	6.6%
46	Iowa	$154,638	$164,388	6.3%
47	Louisiana	$174,608	$185,376	6.2%
48	District of Columbia	$649,588	$685,934	5.6%
49	Wyoming	$258,001	$269,791	4.6%
50	North Dakota	$234,798	$245,014	4.4%
51	Alaska	$290,740	$300,063	3.2%

Methodology

To find how housing prices changed over the last year, we compared Zillow home values from May 2020 to May 2021 using the Zillow Home Value Index.

Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI): A smoothed, seasonally adjusted measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. This measurement reflects the typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range.

Sources

Zillow, “United States Home Prices and Home Values.” Accessed June 24, 2021.

Written by

Trevor Wheelwright

Trevor’s written about home products and services for over six years across editorial publications and retail/eCommerce sites. His work's been featured on Forbes, RealSimple, USA Today, MSN, BusinessInsider, Entrepreneur, PCMag, and CNN. When he’s not researching and writing, you can find him around Salt Lake City, Utah, snapping photos of mountains and architecture or seeking out some good tunes and friendly faces.