Homeowners across the country hold a record amount of home equity—the difference between a home’s value and the remaining mortgage balance. Altogether, mortgage holders have $17.5 trillion in equity. About 2.4 million of them have at least $1 million in equity, up 6% from last year.
Most of that wealth is concentrated in a few places. California alone accounts for 49% of the nation’s equity millionaires. New York is next with 189,000, followed by New Jersey with 141,000 and Florida with 104,000. High home prices in those states are the main reason.
Nevada does not rank among the top states. Home prices have risen in recent years, especially in Las Vegas and Reno, but they remain well below levels in California and parts of the Northeast. Many Nevada owners have solid equity, but few have reached $1 million. A rough estimate puts the number of equity millionaires in Nevada at roughly 12,000.
Not every market is as strong. Dallas has more homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth than any other large market. In Cape Coral, Florida, 11.2% of mortgages are underwater. The number of borrowers who are both underwater and at least three payments behind has climbed to 362,000, the highest since 2018.
For Nevada, the picture is mixed. Longtime owners often have good equity, but the state is not producing large numbers of equity millionaires the way California and a few other high-price states are. Most of the biggest gains remain concentrated in a small number of expensive markets.
