The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has just completed its analysis of the 2000 Census and discovered the Golden State has the highest concentration of million-dollar homes in the country. 41 percent of the nation’s homes, valued at more than a million dollars, are located in California. No other state comes close to this figure. Runner-up New York claims 7.1 percent of the homes, while third place Florida is home to 5.8 percent of the pricey homes.

“It’s no surprise that California has cornered the market on million-dollar homes," said Jerry Howard, CEO and Executive Vice President of the NAHB.

“Keep in mind that this is a very limited market we’re talking about,” Howard noted. “Out of an inventory of more than 55 million owner-occupied single-family homes nationwide, fewer than 314,000 were worth a million dollars as of the 2000 Census. That’s just six-tenths of one percent of the marketplace.” Of that 314,000, about 128,600, or 41 percent, were in California.

Where does a million-dollar home make the biggest splash? North Dakota had just 51 such homes as of the latest Census, and while South Dakota had more than twice that number - at 129 - it too was outnumbered by every other state.

Source: National Association of Home Builders, 7/28/03