Americans with an education level of bachelor’s degree or higher are more likely to own a home by age 30, according to a new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That's regardless of their student debt situation too, the study finds.
Researchers who tracked college attendance and homeownership rate by age for those born between 1980 and 1986 concluded that college graduation is associated with higher homeownership rates. By age 33, the homeownership rate for those who did not attend college trails about two years behind those who did attend college with debt but did not graduate, the study showed.
“Past research has not been able to disentangle how different types of educational attainment and student debt interact to impact the likelihood of owning a home,”
according to a blog post at Liberty Street Economics. “Because we observe not only whether an individual owes student debt and has attended college but also graduation status, level of degree obtained, and homeownership status, we are able to further disentangle the relationship between different education levels and homeownership.”
Yet, the amount of student debt a person has is related to homeownership rates, the study concluded. Americans carrying more than $25,000 of debt are less likely to own a home than those with smaller debt numbers.
Source: “Those With Bachelor’s Degree More Likely to Own Home, Study Says,” RISMedia (April 16, 2017) and “Diplomas to Doorsteps: Education, Student Debt, and Homeownership,” Liberty Street Economics (April 3, 2017)
