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Which States Have Had the Highest Home Price Growth? It Depends on the Start Date
Which states' home prices rose the most depends on the start month. How to rank every state on the FHFA index, read per-year rates, and what a rank cannot say.
The short answer
There is no single answer, because the ranking depends on the month you start counting from. Since January 2020 (2020 Q1 to 2026 Q2), home prices on FHFA’s quarterly state index rose the most in Maine, +84.3%, and the least in the District of Columbia, +13.7%. Start in January 2012 instead (2012 Q1 to 2026 Q2) and the top state is Nevada, +249.0%, with Louisiana last at +59.1%. Same index, same method, different question. This guide shows how the ranking is built and how to read it.
The series that ranks states
FHFA publishes its all-transactions House Price Index quarterly for the 50 states and the District of Columbia, from 1975, in the quarterly master file. Each state series follows repeat sales and appraisals of the same homes inside that state, so the ratio of two values is the state’s price change between those two quarters. The levels themselves are scaled to each state’s own base year and cannot be compared across states; only the change over an identical window can. The home price growth by state tool computes that change for every state from any month and sorts the result.
How the ranking is built
Change = (index now ÷ index then) − 1, for each state, over the same window
Per year = (index now ÷ index then)1 ÷ years − 1
The start month is matched to the quarter that holds it (January 2020 is 2020 Q1), and “now” is the latest quarter FHFA has published, 2026 Q2. Every state gets the same window, 6.25 years for the 2020 start, and is sorted by its change. The per-year figure is the compound annual rate, the one yearly percentage that produces the total across the window. It matters only when comparing windows of different lengths; within one ranking it orders the states the same way the total does.
Since January 2020: 51 rows ranked
The three largest changes, the nation, and the three smallest:
| Rank | State | Index 2020 Q1 | Index 2026 Q2 | Change | Per year | $100,000 then |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maine | 566.47 | 1044.11 | +84.3% | +10.3% | $184,319 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 509.16 | 920.17 | +80.7% | +9.9% | $180,723 |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 589.62 | 1064.86 | +80.6% | +9.9% | $180,601 |
| United States | 448.64 | 719.87 | +60.5% | +7.9% | $160,456 | |
| 49 | North Dakota | 377.55 | 539.91 | +43.0% | +5.9% | $143,004 |
| 50 | Louisiana | 294.58 | 381.58 | +29.5% | +4.2% | $129,534 |
| 51 | District of Columbia | 912.86 | 1037.72 | +13.7% | +2.1% | $113,678 |
Maine: 1044.11 ÷ 566.47 = 1.8432, so a $100,000 home in 2020 Q1 would be worth about $184,319 in 2026 Q2 if it grew like the state average. The middle state rose +61.5% over this window, against +60.5% for the nation. Texas sits at +52.3%, rank 40.
Since January 2012: the same states, a different order
| Rank | State | Index 2012 Q1 | Index 2026 Q2 | Change | Per year | $100,000 then |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nevada | 185.62 | 647.75 | +249.0% | +9.2% | $348,966 |
| 2 | Idaho | 275.55 | 878.19 | +218.7% | +8.5% | $318,704 |
| 3 | Arizona | 234.86 | 731.21 | +211.3% | +8.3% | $311,339 |
| United States | 309.55 | 719.87 | +132.6% | +6.1% | $232,554 | |
| 49 | District of Columbia | 579.96 | 1037.72 | +78.9% | +4.2% | $178,930 |
| 50 | Alaska | 281.55 | 494.13 | +75.5% | +4.0% | $175,503 |
| 51 | Louisiana | 239.82 | 381.58 | +59.1% | +3.3% | $159,111 |
Over 14.25 years from the 2012 bottom, Nevada leads at +249.0%, +9.2% a year, and Louisiana trails at +59.1%. The middle state rose +120.2% and the nation +132.6%. Texas is +141.6% at rank 15. Maine, which is rank 1 since 2020 at +84.3%, is rank 18 since 2012 at +138.2%; Nevada, rank 1 since 2012 at +249.0%, is rank 34 since 2020 at +56.9%. A state’s place in one window says little about its place in another.
Why the nation is not the average of the states
The United States row is FHFA’s own national series, built from the same sales weighted by where they happen, so California counts for far more than Wyoming. A plain average of the 51 rows would weight them equally and land somewhere else. The median in the sentences above is the middle state, which no weighting moves: half the states did better than it, half worse.
What a state ranking cannot know
- Your house, or your city. Each row is a state’s average. A metro inside it can sit far from the state figure, and renovations, condition and lot are not in any of it. The home price change since any year tool has the metro series.
- Sales the index never sees. It is built from mortgages bought or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so cash, jumbo, FHA and VA purchases are not in it (FHFA HPI FAQ).
- Price levels. A rank is a change, not a price. The state with the largest change can be among the cheapest, and the changes are in the dollars of each date, not adjusted for inflation.
- Where prices go next. The index is history. It is not a forecast and not an appraisal.
Sources
- FHFA House Price Index datasets, the quarterly master file for states and the nation.
- FHFA HPI frequently asked questions, on what the index includes and its release schedule.
- FHFA HPI technical description, the repeat-sales method behind each state series.
This guide is for informational purposes only. It is not an appraisal, and not financial, tax, lending or real-estate advice. Every estimate on this site tracks an area’s average, never a particular house. Confirm anything that matters with a licensed appraiser or your lender.
Last reviewed: September 2026 · Against the FHFA House Price Index master file (quarterly state series through 2026 Q2).