Counties with the oldest homes in Florida
Counties with the oldest homes in Florida
There's an undeniable charm that comes with pre-World War II American architecture, characterized by high ceilings, crown molding, hardwood floors, and ornate details. In fact, 11.4% of all housing units in America were built in 1939 or before, showing the popularity of the preservation of these units. Owning a piece of history can sometimes come with a cost: Many old homes come with asbestos, lead piping, knob-and-tube wiring, and other outdated building styles that can rack up a hefty price tag to modernize. However, with more and more modernized pre-war homes on the market, generally located just outside bustling downtown metros, investing in property that has withstood the test of time is an attractive prospect.
Stacker compiled a list of the counties in Florida with the oldest homes using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by median year the structure was built according to 2023 5-year estimates. Ties broken by the highest percentage of homes built before 1939.
The country's domestic architecture is perhaps best characterized by a rugged individualism as opposed to the hybridization of disparate architectural elements. As Maya Angelou once perceptively observed, "the ache for home lives in all of us," a phrase that has meant very different things to different people.
Modest or palatial, there is no shortage of noteworthy homes in the U.S. Log cabins constructed by industrious pioneers have dotted the landscape alongside traditional Native American dwellings ever since immigrant Swedes introduced them to the New World in 1638. The unprecedented personal fortunes amassed by the so-called "Robber Barons" at the close of the 19th century gave way to the construction of a staggering number of Gilded Age estates.
The ravages of time spared neither the sumptuous nor the humble. Stately mansions, often prohibitively costly to maintain in the modern era, were frequently neglected; simple structures were forgotten, discarded by their owners, and damaged by natural elements. However, the tireless efforts of architectural preservationists and local historical societies have saved many of these homes from demolition, leading to their inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and thereby safeguarding them for future generations.
Keep reading to learn more about which counties in Florida have the oldest homes.
#50. Marion County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.3% (2,459 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.3% (4,174 homes)
- Total homes built: 183,453
#49. Bay County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.6% (1,667 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.8% (2,985 homes)
- Total homes built: 106,209
#48. Liberty County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.7% (55 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.9% (28 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,209
#47. Pasco County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 0.7% (1,844 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.9% (7,776 homes)
- Total homes built: 265,118
#46. Indian River County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.1% (970 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.7% (1,432 homes)
- Total homes built: 85,093
#45. Columbia County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.2% (674 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.0% (587 homes)
- Total homes built: 30,066
#44. Levy County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.3% (478 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.5% (315 homes)
- Total homes built: 21,197
#43. Polk County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.9% (9,715 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.8% (9,073 homes)
- Total homes built: 329,750
#42. Suwannee County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.8% (731 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (38 homes)
- Total homes built: 19,063
#41. Union County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.9% (232 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.7% (82 homes)
- Total homes built: 4,772
#40. Charlotte County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 0.2% (274 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.3% (2,690 homes)
- Total homes built: 114,821
#39. Hernando County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 0.5% (423 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (956 homes)
- Total homes built: 90,991
#38. Hendry County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 0.7% (114 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.8% (438 homes)
- Total homes built: 15,639
#37. Okaloosa County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 0.7% (749 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.9% (1,939 homes)
- Total homes built: 102,475
#36. Manatee County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.6% (3,512 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 3.2% (6,903 homes)
- Total homes built: 214,510
#35. Hillsborough County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.9% (17,694 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.0% (12,406 homes)
- Total homes built: 618,220
#34. Citrus County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 0.3% (280 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.7% (1,401 homes)
- Total homes built: 83,417
#33. Glades County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 0.4% (27 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (45 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,612
#32. DeSoto County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.9% (614 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.9% (141 homes)
- Total homes built: 15,713
#31. Lafayette County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.3% (142 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (25 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,334
#30. Hamilton County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.2% (292 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.9% (48 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,638
#29. Okeechobee County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.2% (220 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.5% (283 homes)
- Total homes built: 18,532
#28. Seminole County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.3% (2,515 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (2,251 homes)
- Total homes built: 197,167
#27. Leon County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.5% (2,074 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (1,114 homes)
- Total homes built: 135,906
#26. Dixie County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.3% (214 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.3% (121 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,365
#25. Jefferson County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.8% (326 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.8% (126 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,815
#24. Brevard County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 0.8% (2,243 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.5% (4,498 homes)
- Total homes built: 294,461
#23. Sarasota County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.3% (3,319 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.4% (6,287 homes)
- Total homes built: 260,272
#22. Alachua County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.7% (3,333 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.7% (2,199 homes)
- Total homes built: 125,702
#21. Washington County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.7% (408 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (87 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,962
#20. Calhoun County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.9% (223 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 3.4% (192 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,663
#19. Madison County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.9% (743 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (55 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,392
#18. Martin County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.5% (1,232 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (851 homes)
- Total homes built: 82,297
#17. Highlands County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.6% (936 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (342 homes)
- Total homes built: 58,086
#16. Palm Beach County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.7% (12,094 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (7,753 homes)
- Total homes built: 713,855
#15. Volusia County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.1% (5,892 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.8% (4,898 homes)
- Total homes built: 277,851
#14. Duval County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.0% (22,079 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 2.4% (10,542 homes)
- Total homes built: 445,946
#13. Taylor County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.5% (732 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (110 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,177
#12. Franklin County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.0% (596 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (81 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,476
#11. Bradford County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.3% (357 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.8% (200 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,826
#10. Hardee County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.3% (722 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (54 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,884
#9. Putnam County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.7% (2,098 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.3% (473 homes)
- Total homes built: 36,614
#8. Holmes County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.2% (275 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (95 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,642
#7. Escambia County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.6% (5,325 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.7% (2,530 homes)
- Total homes built: 147,678
#6. Gadsden County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.5% (851 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.4% (260 homes)
- Total homes built: 19,100
#5. Jackson County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.7% (934 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.2% (244 homes)
- Total homes built: 20,061
#4. Monroe County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.0% (3,238 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.2% (655 homes)
- Total homes built: 54,418
#3. Broward County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 0.7% (6,454 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (6,957 homes)
- Total homes built: 863,128
#2. Miami-Dade County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.2% (34,455 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (11,618 homes)
- Total homes built: 1,085,414
#1. Pinellas County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.5% (18,092 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (3,228 homes)
- Total homes built: 518,180