California, Florida and Texas are the states with the highest number of homeowner association (HOA) residents, according to new research.
HOAs are groups of residents elected to a board which creates community rules, maintains common areas and collects funds to do so.
According to a study by the Foundation for Community Association Research, there are over 30 million HOA residents living in the aforementioned three states. The foundation measured the number of HOA residents in 27 states in total, where there are the most, and published its findings.
Below, Newsweek has created a map illustrating the research group’s findings.
Why It Matters
The growth of HOAs may have wide consequences for those living in them as the organizations are disliked by some residents. According to a September 2024 survey by home repair and maintenance services company Frontdoor, 70 percent of people would prefer to purchase a home in a community without a HOA.
Association issues have been widely reported in the press. In 2024, one woman shared how she spent hundreds of dollars on a front yard makeover, only to be told that the white rocks she used were in violation of the regulations.
What To Know
According to the new research, there are 14,489,000 residents in HOAs in California and 10,882,000 in Florida.
In Texas, there are 6,407,000 HOA residents and in Illinois there are 4,421,000 residents.
Other states have fewer HOA residents. Connecticut has the smallest number of HOA residents out of the 27 states researched, for instance, recording 477,000 residents. Connecticut is followed by Oregon which has 587,000 and Utah which has 658,000. Tennessee has 765,000 HOA residents.
The data also revealed that, overall, 2.1 million residents lived in HOA communities in 1970 and by 2025 this figure increased to 78.1 million.
The number of HOA housing units has also increased from 700,000 in 1970 to 29.6 million in 2025, the foundation found.
This means that, per the data, 35.2 percent of U.S. housing is in community associations and the overall value of these homes is some $13.1 trillion.
It follows other data which revealed that New York, the District of Columbia and Hawaii are the states with the highest HOA fees.
Meanwhile, there have been recent efforts to stop the growth of HOAs. Florida State Representative Juan Porras, a Republican, introduced a bill in 2025 that would allow homeowners to dissolve their association by majority vote, among other changes. In January 2026, it passed the Housing, Agriculture and Tourism Subcommittee, paving the way for future votes.
What People Are Saying
Florida State Representative Juan Porras wrote on X: “Floridians have been asking for real HOA reform, and we’re delivering. HB 657 creates a transparent, fair, and efficient Community Association Court system that protects homeowners and allows for the people to decide if they want to continue living in an HOA. Proud to lead on this effort.”
Read the full article here
