Key Takeaways
In 2025, nearly 360,000 women purchased a home in the U.S. on their own
In top-ranked New Orleans, 17.4% of homes – about 1 in 6 – were purchased by single women
Single women buy homes at nearly twice the rate in the top five cities vs the bottom five
Formerly affordable metros like Phoenix and Dallas rank among the worst for single female homebuying
Women are no longer waiting for permission, a partner, or perfect timing to buy a home.
For generations, marriage was a precursor to homeownership. Before 1974, women weren’t legally permitted to obtain a mortgage without a male cosigner, says the Smithsonian.
Now, solo women are about one in six buyers in top markets. Single females are saying, in the words of Ariana Grande, “I want it, I got it.”
Homeownership is becoming the ultimate flex. Independence, wealth, status. All in one move. And the numbers show it.
Mortgage Research Network analyzed 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data and found that single female homebuyers account for a surprising share of home purchases in several U.S. metros. Women are refusing to put life plans on hold while waiting for a partner.
The study ranked the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas by the share of home purchase mortgages in which a female under 45 is the only borrower on the application.
New Orleans claimed the top spot, where nearly 17.4% of all home purchase loans went to single women. Hartford, Conn., Buffalo, N.Y., Baltimore, Md., and Birmingham, Ala., rounded out the top five.
The Rankings: Where Single Women Are Buying Homes
The Top 10 Cities for Single Female Homebuyers (2025)
| Rank | Metro | % of Purchases by Single Females | Average Home Price | Single Female Homebuyer Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n/a | United States | 11.4% | $368,198 | $112,000 |
| 1 | New Orleans, LA | 17.4% | $261,919 | $74,000 |
| 2 | Hartford, CT | 16.2% | $394,221 | $88,000 |
| 3 | Buffalo, NY | 15.5% | $282,896 | $75,000 |
| 4 | Baltimore, MD | 15.2% | $402,887 | $92,000 |
| 5 | Birmingham, AL | 14.6% | $259,928 | $67,000 |
| 6 | Memphis, TN | 14.5% | $245,951 | $71,000 |
| 7 | Cleveland, OH | 14.4% | $248,141 | $71,000 |
| 8 | Atlanta, GA | 14.3% | $381,835 | $90,000 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh, PA | 14.2% | $228,113 | $70,000 |
| 10 | Philadelphia, PA | 14.2% | $386,647 | $88,000 |
Single Female Homebuying Share Swings Widely By Location
Across the top five metros, single female buyers account for an average of 15.8% of all purchase mortgages.
Across the bottom five metros, they account for just 7.6%.
Single women command more than twice as much market share in the top-ranked cities as they do in the lowest-ranked metros.
The contrast is especially evident in some of America's most expensive housing markets.
San Jose ranked last, with single female buyers accounting for just 6.5% of purchase loans. Expensive locales like San Diego, San Francisco, Riverside and Seattle also landed near the bottom of the rankings.
Affordability a Major Factor
Top metros for female homeownership have this in common: they are relatively affordable.
The average home value across the top 10 metros is roughly $309,000. Bottom 10? $818,000.
That half-million-dollar home price gap translates to very different outcomes.
While women are increasingly purchasing homes on their own, affordability still matters when buying on a single income, regardless of gender.
| Single Female Homebuying Rank | Metro | Average Home Price | % of Purchases by Single Females |
|---|---|---|---|
| n/a | United States | $368,198 | 11.4% |
| 50 | San Jose, CA | $1,627,300 | 6.5% |
| 48 | San Francisco, CA | $1,145,541 | 7.8% |
| 43 | Los Angeles, CA | $969,589 | 9.2% |
| 49 | San Diego, CA | $943,055 | 6.9% |
| 45 | Seattle, WA | $755,116 | 8.9% |
The West Coast, especially California, is over-represented when it comes to tough markets for single women. Many of the strongest markets, though, are located in the Midwest, South, and Northeast, where home prices remain realistic for area incomes.
Why Single Women Aspire to Homeownership
The 2025 HMDA data shows that women aren’t afraid to put down roots in a community on their own.
Why are women increasingly making this move?
Marriage is happening later. The median age of first marriage in the U.S. is 28 for women, up from 21 in 1975, according to the Census Bureau. The trend has provided one of the most basic homeownership building blocks: time. The more of it, the more opportunity to increase levels of work experience and income.
Women are outperforming men educationally. Forbes says women now earn 58% of bachelor’s degrees and 62% of master’s in the U.S. This means greater chances of high-earning employment than their male counterparts with lower levels of education.
Women want to secure their independence. Among Gen Z, single women accounted for 35% of homebuyers in their age group versus 18% for men, says the Associated Press, citing NAR numbers. AP credits this lopsided performance to the desire to stand on their own two feet.
Women with Higher Incomes Have the Most Homebuying Success
There is a huge income gap between female homebuyers and the broader single-female population.
In New Orleans, for example, the median income of single female homebuyers was $74,000.
That's more than double the city's typical single-female income of roughly $36,000.
The pattern repeats throughout the rankings.
| Single Female Homebuying Rank | Metro | Single Female Homebuyer Income | Overall Single Female Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| n/a | United States | $112,000 | $40,685 |
| 1 | New Orleans, LA | $74,000 | $36,428 |
| 2 | Hartford, CT | $88,000 | $46,260 |
| 3 | Buffalo, NY | $75,000 | $41,682 |
| 4 | Baltimore, MD | $92,000 | $50,613 |
| 5 | Birmingham, AL | $67,000 | $40,717 |
While homeownership remains achievable on a single income, the buyers successfully entering today's market tend to have earnings well above average for their local area.
That doesn't mean homeownership is out of reach for lower-income women. It does suggest that income remains one of the biggest dividing lines between women who aspire to buy and women who are currently able to buy.
Areas to Watch
The rankings revealed where single women are thriving and struggling in today’s real estate market.
The South and Midwest lead. Eight of the top ten cities are in the South or Midwest, perhaps not the first regions one thinks of for female economic equality. Yet these markets are producing the highest concentrations of solo female homebuyers in the country. This challenges assumptions about where female financial independence is being achieved.
Atlanta punches above its weight. As the eighth-ranked city and the largest metro in the top 10, Atlanta's 14.3% single female buyer share means nearly 10,000 single women entered the real estate market here in 2025 alone. Atlanta was also recognized by Mortgage Research Network as the top city for another disadvantaged group in real estate: Black homebuyers.
Pennsylvania shines, Phoenix faulters. At numbers nine and 10 respectively, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia both boast a 14.2% share of single female homebuyers. At an average home price of $307,000 between the two cites, Pennsylvania is an affordable haven. Phoenix, however, ranked 44th on the list, not much higher than cities in California, with just a 9.1% share of the market claimed by single women.
From Illegal to Dominant
Single women, once banned from buying a home alone, are now a dominant force in many markets.
Nationwide, nearly 360,000 home purchase loans were obtained by single female borrowers in 2025.
No, women aren’t waiting around to start building wealth and establishing roots. They have the income, education, and grit to make it happen on their own.
50 Metros for Single Female Homebuyers: Full Rankings
| Rank | Metro | % of Purchases by Single Females | Average Home Price | Single Female Homebuyer Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n/a | United States | 11.4% | $368,198 | $112,000 |
| 1 | New Orleans, LA | 17.4% | $261,919 | $74,000 |
| 2 | Hartford, CT | 16.2% | $394,221 | $88,000 |
| 3 | Buffalo, NY | 15.5% | $282,896 | $75,000 |
| 4 | Baltimore, MD | 15.2% | $402,887 | $92,000 |
| 5 | Birmingham, AL | 14.6% | $259,928 | $67,000 |
| 6 | Memphis, TN | 14.5% | $245,951 | $71,000 |
| 7 | Cleveland, OH | 14.4% | $248,141 | $71,000 |
| 8 | Atlanta, GA | 14.3% | $381,835 | $90,000 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh, PA | 14.2% | $228,113 | $70,000 |
| 10 | Philadelphia, PA | 14.2% | $386,647 | $88,000 |
| 11 | Louisville, KY | 14.2% | $280,366 | $63,000 |
| 12 | Detroit, MI | 13.7% | $266,496 | $72,000 |
| 13 | St. Louis, MO | 13.5% | $273,427 | $70,000 |
| 14 | Chicago, IL | 13.4% | $349,901 | $86,000 |
| 15 | Virginia Beach, VA | 13.4% | $371,148 | $84,000 |
| 16 | Richmond, VA | 13.3% | $393,943 | $83,000 |
| 17 | Indianapolis, IN | 12.8% | $293,854 | $72,000 |
| 18 | Cincinnati, OH | 12.7% | $308,063 | $74,000 |
| 19 | Oklahoma City, OK | 12.6% | $245,682 | $69,000 |
| 20 | Minneapolis, MN | 12.4% | $391,192 | $85,000 |
| 21 | Houston, TX | 12.2% | $308,211 | $88,000 |
| 22 | Charlotte, NC | 12.2% | $388,846 | $89,000 |
| 23 | Washington, DC | 12.1% | $582,461 | $118,000 |
| 24 | Tampa, FL | 12.1% | $359,150 | $91,000 |
| 25 | Jacksonville, FL | 11.8% | $351,554 | $77,000 |
| 26 | Columbus, OH | 11.7% | $329,878 | $78,000 |
| 27 | Providence, RI | 11.6% | $520,157 | $102,000 |
| 28 | Milwaukee, WI | 11.5% | $384,264 | $75,000 |
| 29 | San Antonio, TX | 11.4% | $280,170 | $71,000 |
| 30 | Raleigh, NC | 11.4% | $438,344 | $94,000 |
| 31 | Kansas City, MO | 11.3% | $326,895 | $75,000 |
| 32 | Miami, FL | 11.2% | $473,725 | $120,000 |
| 33 | Orlando, FL | 10.8% | $386,582 | $93,000 |
| 34 | Nashville, TN | 10.7% | $455,068 | $87,000 |
| 35 | New York, NY | 10.7% | $718,397 | $135,000 |
| 36 | Las Vegas, NV | 10.6% | $430,838 | $90,000 |
| 37 | Denver, CO | 10.6% | $575,130 | $105,000 |
| 38 | Boston, MA | 10.4% | $736,881 | $122,000 |
| 39 | Dallas, TX | 10.3% | $366,743 | $93,000 |
| 40 | Austin, TX | 10.2% | $430,490 | $101,000 |
| 41 | Portland, OR | 9.8% | $551,941 | $105,000 |
| 42 | Sacramento, CA | 9.3% | $581,956 | $123,000 |
| 43 | Los Angeles, CA | 9.2% | $969,589 | $165,000 |
| 44 | Phoenix, AZ | 9.1% | $448,933 | $86,000 |
| 45 | Seattle, WA | 8.9% | $755,116 | $125,000 |
| 46 | Salt Lake City, UT | 8.8% | $568,981 | $96,500 |
| 47 | Riverside, CA | 8.1% | $586,623 | $120,000 |
| 48 | San Francisco, CA | 7.8% | $1,145,541 | $174,000 |
| 49 | San Diego, CA | 6.9% | $943,055 | $148,000 |
| 50 | San Jose, CA | 6.5% | $1,627,300 | $207,000 |
Methodology
Rankings are based on 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data accessed via PolygonResearch.com (May 21, 2026), filtering for primary residence purchase loans on 1-4 unit properties where a female under 45 was the sole applicant. The 50 largest U.S. metros were identified using Zillow's size ranking. Home values reflect the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) for all homes as of April 30, 2026. General single-female income figures are based on published ACS estimates.
