New Jersey outpaced most other states in typical housing wealth in a national study
New Jersey was one of the top five states where homeowners reported having the most home equity in the first quarter of the year, according to a report by LendingTree.
The typical homeowner in New Jersey has one of the highest levels of housing wealth in the country, according to a study by LendingTree, an online loan marketplace.
The state was one of the top five where homeowners reported having the most home equity in the first quarter of the year, according to an analysis of more than 965,000 anonymized inquiries for home equity loans and home equity lines of credit submitted through LendingTree.
Home equity shoppers in New Jersey reported having a median of about $295,000 in equity, meaning half had more and half had less. The Garden State tied with Washington state in the rankings, but New Jersey had a slightly higher share of homeowners with at least $200,000 in equity — almost three in four shoppers.
Home equity, also referred to as housing wealth, is the difference between how much a property is worth and how much the owner owes on their mortgage. Equity increases when home values rise and/or owners pay down their mortgage. It’s money that belongs to the owner, but it’s not the same as having cash, noted Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief consumer finance analyst.
“Accessing [equity] generally means selling the home or borrowing against it, and borrowing comes with costs and risks,” Schulz said in a statement. Equity fluctuates with the market. Before borrowing against a home, owners should verify how much equity they have and how much the loan will ultimately cost. And they shouldn’t borrow more than they need, he said.
Property owners take out loans and lines of credit against a home’s equity to do things like consolidate debt, pay for school, and repair or renovate the home.
How equity compares
Home equity shoppers in Hawaii reported having the most housing wealth — a median of about $425,000, according to the LendingTree analysis. More than 80% of these homeowners had at least $200,000 in home equity.
California came in at second for median housing wealth — about $350,000.
Pennsylvania ranked 34th. Home equity shoppers on LendingTree’s platform reported having a median of $180,000.
Of the 50 states, West Virginia and Iowa were tied for last place. Home equity shoppers in these states reported having a median of about $130,000 in equity.
Differences among states “are a reminder that the home equity story can look very different depending on where you live,” Schulz said.
“For some homeowners, their house can provide a huge financial cushion,” he said. “For others, there may be far less wiggle room.”
But in total, U.S. homeowners “are sitting on an extraordinary amount of housing wealth,” Schulz said.
Across the country, households had $34.9 trillion in home equity as of the first quarter of 2026 — $48.7 trillion in real estate assets and $13.8 trillion in mortgage debt, according to LendingTree’s analysis of Federal Reserve data.
