What a house cost in 1940, then and now
Owners estimated the median US home value themselves at $2,938 in 1940, as recorded in the Census of Housing. In September 2026 dollars, that is about $70,669. A typical US home was worth $366,157 in September 2026, as measured by the Zillow Home Value Index.
- 1940 median home value
- $2,938Census of Housing
- Value in September 2026 dollars
- $70,669. Price adjusted with CPI-U.
State-by-state median home values, 1940
In 1940, the census included home values for 48 states and DC. Connecticut had the highest median at $4,615, while New Mexico had the lowest at $656; the national median was $2,938. Neither Alaska nor Hawaii was a state in 1940, so neither has a figure for that year.
| State | Median value, 1940 | Value in September 2026 dollars | Median value, 2000 | Typical value, September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | $4,615 | $111,006 | $166,900 | $447,319 |
| New Jersey | $4,528 | $108,914 | $170,800 | $575,123 |
| New York | $4,389 | $105,570 | $148,700 | $524,942 |
| Delaware | $4,159 | $100,038 | $130,400 | $405,061 |
| Rhode Island | $3,848 | $92,557 | $133,000 | $508,507 |
| Massachusetts | $3,837 | $92,293 | $185,700 | $655,219 |
| California | $3,527 | $84,836 | $211,500 | $761,538 |
| Ohio | $3,415 | $82,142 | $103,700 | $245,982 |
| Illinois | $3,277 | $78,823 | $130,800 | $295,943 |
| Wisconsin | $3,232 | $77,741 | $112,200 | $337,196 |
| Pennsylvania | $3,205 | $77,091 | $97,000 | $287,078 |
| Maryland | $3,031 | $72,906 | $146,000 | $424,890 |
| Minnesota | $3,024 | $72,737 | $122,400 | $348,778 |
| Michigan | $2,863 | $68,865 | $115,600 | $263,760 |
| Vermont | $2,836 | $68,215 | $111,500 | $391,900 |
| Virginia | $2,633 | $63,333 | $125,400 | $412,252 |
| New Hampshire | $2,505 | $60,254 | $133,300 | $510,937 |
| Indiana | $2,406 | $57,872 | $94,300 | $257,165 |
| Missouri | $2,392 | $57,536 | $89,900 | $265,387 |
| Washington | $2,359 | $56,742 | $168,300 | $587,533 |
| West Virginia | $2,350 | $56,525 | $72,800 | $176,576 |
| Oregon | $2,343 | $56,357 | $152,100 | $492,753 |
| Utah | $2,320 | $55,804 | $146,100 | $532,920 |
| Iowa | $2,253 | $54,192 | $82,500 | $236,623 |
| Florida | $2,218 | $53,350 | $105,500 | $375,361 |
| Wyoming | $2,174 | $52,292 | $96,600 | $369,044 |
| Nebraska | $2,156 | $51,859 | $88,000 | $278,299 |
| South Carolina | $2,145 | $51,595 | $94,900 | $304,319 |
| Colorado | $2,091 | $50,296 | $166,600 | $529,013 |
| Kentucky | $2,074 | $49,887 | $86,700 | $230,909 |
| Maine | $2,008 | $48,299 | $98,700 | $412,002 |
| Nevada | $1,987 | $47,794 | $142,000 | $440,739 |
| Georgia | $1,957 | $47,073 | $111,200 | $329,115 |
| Tennessee | $1,826 | $43,922 | $93,000 | $330,844 |
| North Carolina | $1,802 | $43,344 | $108,300 | $332,159 |
| Kansas | $1,733 | $41,685 | $83,500 | $246,055 |
| Texas | $1,693 | $40,722 | $82,500 | $296,424 |
| Montana | $1,651 | $39,712 | $99,500 | $467,275 |
| North Dakota | $1,626 | $39,111 | $74,400 | $290,657 |
| South Dakota | $1,618 | $38,918 | $79,600 | $317,874 |
| Alabama | $1,610 | $38,726 | $85,100 | $238,614 |
| Idaho | $1,600 | $38,485 | $106,300 | $476,754 |
| Louisiana | $1,414 | $34,012 | $85,000 | $213,867 |
| Arizona | $1,400 | $33,675 | $121,300 | $416,733 |
| Oklahoma | $1,293 | $31,101 | $70,700 | $220,801 |
| Mississippi | $1,189 | $28,599 | $71,400 | $194,531 |
| Arkansas | $1,100 | $26,459 | $72,800 | $224,158 |
| New Mexico | $656 | $15,779 | $108,100 | $315,812 |
Home Values come from the United States Census Bureau, Historical Census of Housing Tables. They cover homes that owners occupied (single-family, on lots under ten acres), and the amounts are not adjusted for inflation (source tables). The yearly average of the CPI-U is used for today's dollar values. A separate measure, the Zillow Home Value Index, is used for the final column.
A 1940 house in current dollars
Since 1940, the CPI-U shows that prices in general are about 24.1 times higher. On that basis, the 1940 median of $2,938 equals about $70,669 in September 2026 dollars. Looking only at the census series, the US median reached $119,600 in 2000, which was 3.3 times the inflation-adjusted 1940 value.
| Measure | 1940 | Value in September 2026 dollars | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value (Census of Housing, then ACS) | $2,938 | $70,669 | $360,600 2024 |
The Census Bureau's American Community Survey provides the 2024 figure. Its data include all owner-occupied homes, while the earlier census covered single-family homes only. Taking that caveat into account, the median home after inflation is worth 5.1 times as much as the 1940 median.
Average house price in 1940 and the decade around it
Rather than an average, the 1940 census published a median, which represents the home value in the middle; the Census Bureau's average sales price for new houses starts in 1963. Because a median does not rise due to a few costly homes, it offers a closer measure of an ordinary house. The census decades around 1940 are presented here:
1940 in perspective
Every point is a single census, spaced ten years apart. The dashed line shows 1940.
A later page covers home prices in 1950. View home prices by year for every year on one page. The home appreciation calculator shows what a home purchased in 1940 is worth now in each city.