With a few exceptions, the U.S. counties that added the greatest percentage increase of housing units over the decade can be explained in two words: Texas and oil. Half of the 10 counties that reported the biggest increase in housing were either in the North Dakota oil fields or the suburbs of the Texas capital and San Antonio, according to a Social Explorer analysis of 2020 Census data.

McKenzie County, N.D., saw its housing stock rise by 147.9 percent over the decade, thanks to a boom in oil and gas drilling; the number of housing units in neighboring Williams County rose 93.3 percent. In Texas, the Austin suburbs of Hays County (57.5 percent) and Williamson County (46 percent) were among the top 10, as was Comal County (48.5 percent), a San Antonio suburb that also sends commuters to the state capital. Check to see if your county’s housing market went boom or bust with Social Explorer’s easy-to-use mapping and report tools.

Housing Units Gained, 2010-20. Click here to explore further.

Author: Frank Bass