U.S. States Investing Most in Manufactured Housing [Video]

After over two years of elevated real estate prices, mortgage rates, and rents, the housing affordability crisis in the U.S. is more apparent than ever. Expanding manufactured housing—a category which includes housing units that are prefabricated in a factory, then transported to their ultimate destinations—is one possible solution. Because these units tend to have simple designs and materials that make them efficient to produce, they are often significantly less expensive than site-built homes. A 2023 report found the average cost per square foot of a manufactured home was $87, roughly half of the $166 cost per square foot of a site-built home. For lower- and middle-income families, this more affordable option has significant appeal. Researchers calculated the total manufactured home shipments as a share of all new single-family homes in 2023 (the sum of manufactured home shipments and single-family housing units authorized by building permits), then ranked states accordingly.