AEI Housing Center

The virtuous cycle of

Greenlighting Starter Home Construction

  • More homes
  • Stronger families
  • Stronger communities

Green Light starter homes

sets a virtuous cycle in motion

or pick any step

    More below

    The State of Starter Homes in America, 2026

    The problemCycle step

    America is losing starter homes.

    Starter homes, 2015 to 2024A starter home is valued at or below 4 times the county median household income.10% of the homes here that existed in 2014 are probability-based. The rest are observed.This figure leaves out 3% of the homes here that existed in 2014: there are no 2014 home values in their state.Built counts homes built from 2015 to 2024 that are starter homes in December 2024, by the starter home time series. The 1.3 million below counts homes built from 2015 to 2024 that are starter homes at December 2025 home values.

    Lost14 million

    Built1.4 million

    12.7 millionstarter homes lost, net, as home prices rose faster than incomes

    Home prices rose faster than incomes, pushing 14 million homes past 4 times county income. New construction added only 1.4 million starter homes.15.3 million rose past 4 times county income; 1.3 million fell back under. Net: 14 million.

    10 lost for every one built.

    Explore the Starter Home Atlas
    The solutionCycle steps

    Green Light building starter homes on smaller lots

    Starter homes, out of every 10 single-family homes2015 stock: Homes valued at or below 4 times county median income, December 2014.Today's stock: Homes valued at or below 4 times county median income, December 2025.New homes: Of the single-family homes built 2015 to 2024, those worth at most 4 times county median income in the year built. Of the homes built 1990 to 2014, 4 in 10 were starter homes when built.With smaller lots: Capping minimum lot sizes in new neighborhoods at 1,000 sq. ft.

    6 in 10 2015 stock
    4 in 10 Today's stock
    3 in 10 New homes
    4 in 10 With smaller lots

    +2.4Mmore starter homes could have been built from 2015 to 2024 with Green Light smaller lots.

    Green Light Starter Homes See where they are built

    See your state, metro, county or city.

    Where they are builtCycle steps

    Where we build starter homes

    Texas built 517,724 starter homes from 2015 to 2024, 40% of the national total.1AEI Housing Center, Starter Home Atlas (December 2025 home values; ACS 2020-2024 5-year incomes)

    1. 1Texas517,724
    2. 2Florida88,004
    3. 3Georgia71,436
    4. 4North Carolina58,136
    5. 5Oklahoma38,325
    Explore the Starter Home Atlas

    Starter homes built per 1,000 households, 2015 to 2024

    Alabama: 18.2 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 36,282 in totalAlaska: 13.5 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 3,640 in totalArizona: 7.7 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 21,870 in totalColorado: 4.6 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 10,837 in totalFlorida: 10.1 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 88,004 in totalGeorgia: 17.5 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 71,436 in totalIndiana: 12.2 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 33,082 in totalKansas: 6.2 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 7,229 in totalMaine: 2.4 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 1,431 in totalMassachusetts: 0.3 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 863 in totalMinnesota: 12 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 27,746 in totalNew Jersey: 1.4 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 4,768 in totalNorth Carolina: 13.6 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 58,136 in totalNorth Dakota: 6.8 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 2,261 in totalOklahoma: 24.5 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 38,325 in totalPennsylvania: 3 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 15,850 in totalSouth Dakota: 7.2 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 2,650 in totalTexas: 47.1 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 517,724 in totalWyoming: 6.4 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 1,555 in totalConnecticut: 0.4 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 574 in totalMissouri: 12.8 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 32,040 in totalWest Virginia: 15.1 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 10,990 in totalIllinois: 2.9 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 14,453 in totalNew Mexico: 2.3 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 1,955 in totalArkansas: 26.4 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 31,803 in totalCalifornia: 0.2 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 2,166 in totalDelaware: 6.9 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 2,781 in totalDistrict Of Columbia: 0.2 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 75 in totalHawaii: 1.6 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 789 in totalIowa: 16.3 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 21,446 in totalKentucky: 4.5 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 8,098 in totalMaryland: 6.6 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 15,705 in totalMichigan: 1.7 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 6,867 in totalMississippi: 15.2 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 17,382 in totalMontana: 2.1 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 979 in totalNew Hampshire: 2.6 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 1,454 in totalNew York: 1.6 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 12,095 in totalOhio: 5.6 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 27,290 in totalOregon: 1.9 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 3,297 in totalTennessee: 10 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 28,131 in totalUtah: 6 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 6,730 in totalVirginia: 7.1 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 23,832 in totalWashington: 2 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 6,131 in totalWisconsin: 0.5 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 1,203 in totalNebraska: 12.3 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 9,792 in totalSouth Carolina: 15.7 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 33,152 in totalIdaho: 4.4 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 3,110 in totalNevada: 1.8 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 2,144 in totalVermont: 5.4 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 1,469 in totalLouisiana: 15.6 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 28,094 in totalRhode Island: 0.2 starter homes built per 1,000 households, 75 in total
    • Under 2
    • 2 to 4.9
    • 5 to 9.9
    • 10 to 19.9
    • 20 or more
    Single-family homes built from 2015 to 2024 whose value is at or below 4 times the county median household income, per 1,000 households in the state. Red marks the states that build the fewest: under 2 per 1,000 households. Home values are December 2025 estimates. Household counts are from the Census Bureau survey ACS 2020-2024 5-year.
    How the fix worksCycle steps

    Greenlighting smaller lots would restore starter homes

    About 90% of cities and towns set a minimum lot size, a forthcoming AEI Housing Center report finds. Every home must then carry the cost of that land. The fix caps the minimum lot size in new neighborhoods at 1,000 square feet. Builders and buyers can still choose larger lots.2Tobias Peter and Edward Pinto, AEI Housing Center, If You Care About Housing Abundance, Minimum Lot Sizes Deserve Much More Attention (forthcoming)

    Starter homes in new neighborhoods, 2015 to 2024Built in new neighborhoods: starter homes in new residential subdivisions, where the cap would apply. This count is smaller than the national count at the top of the page, which covers every single-family home.

    3.1 millionwith smaller lots greenlitAfter greenlighting smaller lots: starter homes built in new neighborhoods from 2015 to 2024, plus the number the Green Light Starter Homes tool estimates if no local rule required a lot larger than 1,000 square feet. Home values are December 2025 estimates.3AEI Housing Center, End the Ban on Building Starter Homes tool (Playbook 2.0), national figures at the tool's defaults: minimum lot sizes in new residential subdivisions capped at 1,000 sq. ft., and a starter home valued at or below 4.0 times county median household income

    Counting every kind of home, starter homes included, smaller lots add about 4 million.

    See it for your state in Green Light Starter Homes

    Two lots, drawn to scale

    8,463 sq. ft.Median lot, all homes built$479,000
    3,000 sq. ft.Starter home, smaller lot$276,000
    Every figure is a median. The first lot is all single-family homes built from 2015 to 2024, from the Starter Home Atlas at December 2025 home values. The second is the starter home the Green Light Starter Homes tool projects on smaller lots, at December 2025 home values.1AEI Housing Center, Starter Home Atlas (December 2025 home values; ACS 2020-2024 5-year incomes)3AEI Housing Center, End the Ban on Building Starter Homes tool (Playbook 2.0), national figures at the tool's defaults: minimum lot sizes in new residential subdivisions capped at 1,000 sq. ft., and a starter home valued at or below 4.0 times county median household income
    States are actingCycle steps

    States are greenlighting smaller lots

    3 states have passed a law: Idaho, Kansas and Maine. Texas also passed SB 15, a landmark starter home bill, in 2025. 18 states introduced a bill in 2026.4AEI Housing Center state legislative tracker, AEI 2026 State Housing Supply Legislation Update, as of October 19, 2026

    3enacted, plus Texas
    3pending
    12introduced, not passed
    Texas SB 15, 2025
    See the state bill tracker

    Bills to greenlight smaller lots, by state

    Alabama: No billAlaska: No billArizona: No billColorado: Introduced, not passedFlorida: Introduced, not passedGeorgia: No billIndiana: No billKansas: EnactedMaine: EnactedMassachusetts: PendingMinnesota: Introduced, not passedNew Jersey: No billNorth Carolina: Introduced, not passedNorth Dakota: No billOklahoma: No billPennsylvania: No billSouth Dakota: No billTexas: Enacted (2025)Wyoming: No billConnecticut: Introduced, not passedMissouri: No billWest Virginia: No billIllinois: Introduced, not passedNew Mexico: Introduced, not passedArkansas: No billCalifornia: No billDelaware: No billDistrict Of Columbia: No billHawaii: Introduced, not passedIowa: Introduced, not passedKentucky: Introduced, not passedMaryland: Introduced, not passedMichigan: PendingMississippi: No billMontana: No billNew Hampshire: No billNew York: No billOhio: PendingOregon: No billTennessee: No billUtah: No billVirginia: No billWashington: No billWisconsin: No billNebraska: No billSouth Carolina: No billIdaho: EnactedNevada: No billVermont: No billLouisiana: No billRhode Island: Introduced, not passed
    • Enacted
    • Pending
    • Introduced, not passed
    • No bill
    Bills tracked by the AEI Housing Center state legislative tracker, as of October 19, 2026. A state counts as enacted when any of its bills became law.
    What people wantCycle steps

    People want homes they can own. And they support making starter homes possible.

    Two national surveys show that Americans favor homes they can own, and that support for smaller lots depends on how the proposal is described.

    86%

    of adults ages 18 to 54 would like to live in a detached single-family house or a townhouse.

    Broader context, not a direct measure of starter home demand. Institute for Family Studies, 2024.5Institute for Family Studies, Homes for Young Families: A Pro-Family Housing Agenda (Cox and Stone, March 2025), Housing, Neighborhoods, and Family Formation Survey, August 2024, adults ages 18 to 54
    13:1

    prefer starter homes people can own over smaller rentals in their neighborhood.

    May and September 2026 surveys together, among those who took a side. The ratio uses the unrounded shares, 57.4% and 4.4%.6AEI Housing Center, national surveys of adults, May and September 2026 (Ipsos KnowledgePanel). Shares are among those who took a side.
    83%

    support a state law allowing more affordably priced starter homes on smaller lots, for first-time buyers, young families and local workers.

    Among those who took a side, September 2026 survey; asked of a third of people.6AEI Housing Center, national surveys of adults, May and September 2026 (Ipsos KnowledgePanel). Shares are among those who took a side.

    Support, by how the reform is described

    1. General proposalAllow smaller lots62%
    2. Explain the benefitMore affordable starter homes76%
    3. Make it concreteA state law for first-time buyers83%

    Also notable: in a separate question, 80% supported smaller lots in new neighborhoods after reading arguments against them and for them, side by side.

    80%

    Read the 6 arguments against and the 6 for
    Against smaller lotsFor smaller lots
    Builders will keep the savings as profit, so homes will not cost less.Large lots raise the cost of each home. Smaller lots let builders sell starter homes for less.
    One state rule would apply to towns with very different needs.A state law can target places with fast growth, high costs or few starter homes.
    More homes bring more traffic and more load on roads, schools and water systems.New neighborhoods must still meet local rules for roads, water, sewer and drainage, and they add taxpayers.
    Smaller lots mean less yard, less privacy and fewer trees.A mix of lot sizes gives buyers more choices, including less expensive starter homes.
    Local governments need to set their own standards.The state can allow smaller lots and still let towns enforce safety and drainage rules.
    Locally elected officials should make these decisions.Housing shortages cross town lines, so the state has a role.

    Among those who took a side, September 2026 survey. The questions used different wording and, for the state law, a third of the people. The gaps show how answers differ by description, not the effect of any one phrase.6AEI Housing Center, national surveys of adults, May and September 2026 (Ipsos KnowledgePanel). Shares are among those who took a side.

    Why it matters

    People back a specific state law for smaller lots, not only a general wish for more housing. The law says what gets built, where it gets built and who gets a chance to own a home. That gives lawmakers a concrete way to talk about reform while answering worries about neighborhood change. Support in a survey does not by itself pass a law.

    About 80% recognize the need, and half feel it strongly

    • The affordability challenge

      79%call housing affordability in their area at least somewhat serious.

      44% extremely or very serious, 35% somewhat.

    • The importance of starter homes

      80%call more affordably priced starter homes in their community at least somewhat important.

      51% extremely or very important, 30% somewhat.

    May and September 2026 surveys together, among those who took a side.6AEI Housing Center, national surveys of adults, May and September 2026 (Ipsos KnowledgePanel). Shares are among those who took a side.

    Go deeper

    Where are starter homes built? 1.3 millionstarter homes built, 2015 to 2024

    Starter Home Atlas

    See every state, metro, county and city.

    Open the atlas     How could we build more? +2.4 millionmore starter homes with smaller lots

    Green Light Starter Homes

    See it state by state and county by county.

    Open the tool