Disclaimer: General educational research only — not legal, tax or financial advice. Inheritance, property and Medicaid rules vary by state and change. Talk to an estate planning attorney in your state before you act.
Estate Planning Data & Research → Seniors Sharing a Home With a Sibling or Housemate
2,222,289 people 65 and older share a home with a brother, sister or unrelated housemate, with no spouse or partner of the householder in the household (margin of error ±39,457), according to our analysis of 2024 Census Bureau American Community Survey microdata. That’s 37 of every 1,000 people 65+ who live in households. 839,866 live with a sibling, and 1,405,769 live with a housemate, roommate or other non-relative.
These arrangements make sense: two incomes, one mortgage or rent, and someone in the house if a fall happens. But the law mostly doesn’t see them. In most states, inheritance law gives nothing to a housemate, no matter how many years you’ve lived together, and a sibling usually inherits only if you have no spouse, children or living parents, and then shares with every other brother and sister. Neither has automatic authority to make medical or money decisions for you. If the house is in one person’s name, the other can lose their home when that person dies or moves to a nursing home.
Sharing a home with someone who isn’t your spouse? A will, deed or trust is how you decide who keeps the home. See whether a trust or a will fits your situation.
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Key findings
- 2,222,289 people 65+ share a home with a sibling or housemate and no spouse or partner of the householder is present. That’s 37.4 per 1,000 people 65+ in households.
- 839,866 live with a brother or sister; 1,405,769 live with a housemate, roommate or other non-relative. (About 23,000 live with both.)
- Who owns the home matters. 1,198,711 are the householder, the person in whose name the home is owned or rented, and 74.2% of them live in a home they or someone in the household owns. Another 1,023,578 live in a home where someone else is the householder. Unless they’re on the deed or named in the owner’s will, the home they live in isn’t theirs to keep.
- Most aren’t married. 40.1% are divorced or separated, 27.4% have never married and 24.9% are widowed. People who aren’t married have no spouse to inherit or make decisions by default.
- 33.9% are 75 or older and 7.1% are 85 or older. 58.0% are women.
- 37.8% report a disability, such as difficulty walking, remembering or living independently.
- Highest rate: District of Columbia (75.3 per 1,000, estimate less reliable), Hawaii (61.2), California (55.0), Nevada (49.4), Maryland (45.2) and New York (44.0). Lowest: South Dakota (19.1), Wyoming (20.3), Iowa (21.2), Indiana (24.2) and Kansas (24.5). Several low-ranked states have small samples, so treat small differences there as rough.
- Most people: California (348,213), Florida (202,996), Texas (161,753), New York (158,756) and Pennsylvania (86,781).
Older adults sharing a home with a sibling or housemate, by state, 2024
| State | People 65+ sharing a home with a sibling or housemate | Margin of error | Per 1,000 people 65+ in households | With a sibling | With a housemate or other non-relative | Reliability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 6,461 | ±1,984 | 75.3 | 3,248 | 3,213 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| Hawaii | 18,690 | ±3,056 | 61.2 | 6,859 | 12,237 | good |
| California | 348,213 | ±12,235 | 55.0 | 113,206 | 240,147 | good |
| Nevada | 28,080 | ±3,933 | 49.4 | 8,051 | 20,262 | good |
| Maryland | 48,445 | ±5,186 | 45.2 | 18,310 | 30,549 | good |
| New York | 158,756 | ±11,861 | 44.0 | 56,975 | 103,941 | good |
| Washington | 57,537 | ±5,258 | 42.9 | 12,952 | 45,107 | good |
| Mississippi | 21,753 | ±2,807 | 42.4 | 11,122 | 10,913 | good |
| Florida | 202,996 | ±10,781 | 40.8 | 75,772 | 128,612 | good |
| Arizona | 57,214 | ±6,203 | 39.2 | 18,351 | 39,525 | good |
| Georgia | 66,095 | ±6,084 | 38.4 | 28,205 | 38,318 | good |
| Texas | 161,753 | ±8,734 | 38.1 | 67,539 | 95,655 | good |
| Alabama | 34,887 | ±4,374 | 37.6 | 17,505 | 17,690 | good |
| Alaska | 3,914 | ±1,610 | 36.9 | 545 | 3,369 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| Oregon | 30,199 | ±3,875 | 36.7 | 8,174 | 22,344 | good |
| Louisiana | 28,714 | ±3,850 | 36.1 | 13,637 | 15,270 | good |
| Connecticut | 24,880 | ±4,065 | 35.9 | 8,485 | 16,443 | good |
| Massachusetts | 46,350 | ±5,413 | 35.9 | 18,317 | 28,892 | good |
| New Mexico | 14,884 | ±3,352 | 35.3 | 5,776 | 9,133 | good |
| New Hampshire | 10,038 | ±2,673 | 34.4 | 2,936 | 7,183 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| Virginia | 52,016 | ±5,347 | 34.3 | 17,739 | 35,252 | good |
| Illinois | 75,282 | ±7,550 | 34.2 | 33,671 | 42,814 | good |
| Pennsylvania | 86,781 | ±8,780 | 33.9 | 34,805 | 52,435 | good |
| Arkansas | 18,007 | ±3,346 | 33.0 | 9,943 | 8,224 | good |
| Ohio | 70,575 | ±6,245 | 32.2 | 29,191 | 42,269 | good |
| Michigan | 61,996 | ±5,727 | 32.0 | 23,962 | 38,618 | good |
| Vermont | 4,592 | ±1,415 | 32.0 | 1,942 | 2,813 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| Colorado | 30,402 | ±3,183 | 31.8 | 8,638 | 22,039 | good |
| North Carolina | 61,384 | ±5,633 | 31.8 | 27,256 | 34,287 | good |
| South Carolina | 33,623 | ±4,213 | 31.8 | 14,934 | 18,986 | good |
| Idaho | 10,856 | ±2,494 | 31.6 | 4,553 | 6,436 | good |
| New Jersey | 52,482 | ±5,818 | 31.6 | 26,543 | 26,433 | good |
| North Dakota | 4,169 | ±2,094 | 31.4 | 2,796 | 1,577 | use with caution (CV over 30%) |
| Missouri | 35,317 | ±4,472 | 31.3 | 14,245 | 21,137 | good |
| Rhode Island | 6,487 | ±2,232 | 30.7 | 2,561 | 3,999 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| Utah | 13,083 | ±2,926 | 30.7 | 2,386 | 10,769 | good |
| Delaware | 6,811 | ±1,892 | 30.5 | 1,913 | 4,898 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| Tennessee | 37,625 | ±4,187 | 30.4 | 14,932 | 22,989 | good |
| Oklahoma | 20,203 | ±3,656 | 30.2 | 6,492 | 13,732 | good |
| Nebraska | 9,853 | ±2,917 | 29.4 | 3,242 | 6,611 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| West Virginia | 11,039 | ±2,333 | 29.3 | 4,244 | 6,830 | good |
| Montana | 6,581 | ±2,074 | 28.2 | 997 | 5,584 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| Kentucky | 21,615 | ±3,059 | 27.0 | 9,995 | 12,019 | good |
| Wisconsin | 29,631 | ±4,586 | 26.2 | 12,413 | 17,542 | good |
| Minnesota | 25,200 | ±4,288 | 24.8 | 8,515 | 16,993 | good |
| Maine | 7,850 | ±2,363 | 24.6 | 3,171 | 5,057 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| Kansas | 12,580 | ±2,547 | 24.5 | 3,017 | 9,563 | good |
| Indiana | 28,515 | ±4,498 | 24.2 | 13,599 | 15,156 | good |
| Iowa | 12,400 | ±3,654 | 21.2 | 3,663 | 8,962 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| Wyoming | 2,321 | ±1,041 | 20.3 | 594 | 1,727 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| South Dakota | 3,154 | ±1,389 | 19.1 | 1,949 | 1,215 | fair (CV 15-30%) |
| United States | 2,222,289 | ±39,457 | 37.4 | 839,866 | 1,405,769 | good |
Source: Family Estate Guide analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). People 65 and older who share a home with a sibling or a housemate/other non-relative (as householder or as the householder’s sibling or housemate), in households with no spouse or unmarried partner of the householder; see Methodology. Sorted by rate per 1,000 people 65+ in households. Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level. Reliability is based on the coefficient of variation of the count; “fair” estimates (CV 15-30%) and the one “use with caution” estimate (North Dakota) are rough, and small-state rankings can shift a lot from year to year.
Why the law treats siblings and housemates differently from spouses
When someone dies without a will, state “intestacy” law decides who inherits. The order is roughly the same in most states: a spouse, then children and grandchildren, then parents, then brothers and sisters (and their children), then more distant relatives. A housemate isn’t on the list at all. So:
- A housemate of 20 years inherits nothing from someone who dies without a will, not even the right to stay in the home. Relatives the person hasn’t seen in decades can inherit instead. If no relatives can be found, the property can go to the state.
- A sibling inherits only if there’s no spouse, no descendant and, in most states, no surviving parent. At 65+ the parent is rarely still alive, but a single child of the person who died, even an estranged one, comes first. And the sibling who shared the home usually shares the inheritance with every other brother and sister, and with the children of a sibling who has died. Three siblings can mean selling the house to split it three ways.
- Neither can make decisions for you by default. Many states’ health care consent laws list a spouse, adult children, parents and siblings, in some order, as people who can make medical decisions if you didn’t name anyone, and a few include a close friend. Banks and brokerages generally won’t let anyone use your accounts without a power of attorney, and if you lose capacity without one, someone may have to go to court to become your guardian or conservator.
- Retirement accounts and life insurance follow the beneficiary form, not the will and not who you lived with. An old form can still name an ex-spouse or a parent who has died.
See who inherits when there’s no will (the intestacy gap) for more on how state inheritance rules work.
The house: whose name is on the deed?
How the home is titled decides what happens to the person who isn’t the owner.
- One owner. If the owner dies, the home goes to whoever the will names, or to heirs under state law. The sibling or housemate has no right to stay unless the will or a written agreement gives them one.
- Tenants in common. Each owner’s share passes under their own will or to their heirs. The survivor could end up co-owning the house with the other person’s children or nieces and nephews, any of whom can ask a court to force a sale.
- Joint tenants with right of survivorship. The survivor automatically owns the whole home without probate. But adding someone to the deed is a gift, can expose the home to that person’s creditors, and can’t easily be undone.
- Transfer-on-death (beneficiary) deed or a trust. Many states let an owner name who gets the home at death without giving up ownership now. A revocable living trust can do the same and can also say the other person may keep living in the home for life.
If one of you goes to a nursing home on Medicaid. Federal Medicaid law protects a co-resident sibling in a few specific ways, and only a sibling, not a friend. A state can’t put a lien on a nursing home resident’s home while a sibling who has an equity interest in it, and who lived there for at least a year before the resident was admitted, lawfully lives there. A home can also be transferred to such a sibling without the usual transfer penalty. And if the state did place a lien, it generally can’t collect on it after death while a sibling who lived there for at least a year before the admission still lives there. A housemate gets none of these protections. Some states also try to recover Medicaid costs from property that passed by joint tenancy, a life estate or a living trust, not just probate property. See Medicaid estate recovery by state.
What changed recently
- The 65+ population at home keeps growing. 59.4 million people 65 and older lived in households in 2024, up from 52.6 million in 2019, according to the Census Bureau’s published ACS tables. The more older adults there are, the more of them live in arrangements that state inheritance laws don’t recognize.
- Federal estate tax isn’t the issue for most of these households. The federal estate tax exclusion is $15 million per person in 2026. Without a spouse, though, there’s no unlimited marital deduction, and a handful of states have their own estate or inheritance taxes with much lower thresholds, sometimes with higher rates for siblings and non-relatives than for children.
- SSI rules changed for people who share a household. Since Sept. 30, 2024, the Social Security Administration no longer counts food provided by others in the household as income for SSI. Shelter still counts: if you live in someone else’s household and don’t pay your share of the shelter costs, your SSI payment may be reduced by up to one-third of the federal SSI amount.
What to do if you share your home with a sibling or housemate
- Write a will that says who gets your share of the home and everything else. If you want your housemate to inherit, a will (or a trust or beneficiary designation) is the only way.
- Check the deed. Find out how the home is titled. If you both own it, decide whether you want survivorship, and if one of you owns it, decide whether the other should be able to stay.
- Consider a transfer-on-death deed or a living trust if your state allows them, so the home passes without probate. A trust can let the survivor live in the home for life and then pass it to someone else.
- Sign a durable financial power of attorney and a health care power of attorney naming each other, or someone else, so a court doesn’t have to decide.
- Update beneficiary forms on retirement accounts, life insurance and bank accounts (payable-on-death).
- Put money arrangements in writing: who pays the mortgage, taxes and repairs, and what happens if one of you moves out, goes into care or dies.
- Name an executor you trust and tell them where your documents are. See who will be your executor?.
Two examples
Two sisters. Ruth, 78, and Joan, 74, have lived in Ruth’s paid-off house for 15 years. Ruth has no will. She has a son she hasn’t spoken to in years. If Ruth dies, her son inherits the house, not Joan, in nearly every state. A will or a transfer-on-death deed naming Joan would change that. If Ruth instead needs nursing home care on Medicaid, Joan is protected from a lien only if she has an equity interest in the house, so adding Joan to the title years earlier (with legal advice about the gift and Medicaid look-back rules) could matter.
Two friends. Dave, 70, and Mike, 68, split rent on an apartment and have been each other’s emergency contact for a decade. Neither has a will or power of attorney. If Dave has a stroke, the hospital may turn to his brother in another state, and Mike may have no legal standing to talk with doctors or pay Dave’s bills. Health care and financial powers of attorney naming each other would fix that.
Related: older adults living alone · the intestacy gap · the incapacity gap · empty homes and probate by state
Methodology
We used the American Community Survey 2024 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), pulled from the Census Data API on Oct. 24, 2026, for all 50 states and D.C. We started with households where no spouse or unmarried partner of the householder lives in the home and the household isn’t a person living alone (HHT2 = 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 or 12). We counted people 65 and older (AGEP) who are either (a) the householder (RELSHIPP = 20) in a home that also has a brother or sister of the householder (RELSHIPP = 28) or a roommate, housemate or other non-relative (RELSHIPP = 34 or 36) of any age, or (b) a brother or sister, roommate, housemate or other non-relative of a householder of any age. “Sibling” and “housemate” counts each include householders and members; a small number of people live with both and appear in each. Ownership uses tenure (TEN = 1 or 2: owned with or without a mortgage); it tells you the home is owned by someone in the household, not by whom. Rates use the published count of people 65+ in households (table B09020) as the denominator. Person estimates use PWGTP; margins of error use the 80 replicate weights and the Census Bureau’s successive-difference formula, at the 90% confidence level.
What this doesn’t measure. The survey sees relationships to the householder only. Two siblings who are both 65+ show up, but so does an older person renting a room in a stranger’s home, and the data doesn’t say whether people are close friends or have a written agreement. Cousins, in-laws and other relatives are not included. The survey doesn’t ask about wills, trusts or deeds. ACS 2025 1-year data is scheduled for release on Oct. 29, 2026, and we plan to update the table after that.
Frequently asked questions
Does my sibling inherit if I die without a will?
Only if you have no spouse, no children or grandchildren and, in most states, no living parent. Then your brothers and sisters usually share equally, including the one you live with, and a deceased sibling’s children may take that sibling’s share.
Can my housemate inherit my house?
Only if you leave it to them in a will, trust or transfer-on-death deed, or you own it together with a right of survivorship. Without one of those, a housemate inherits nothing under state law.
Can a sibling make medical decisions for me?
In many states a sibling is on the default list, but usually behind a spouse, adult children and parents. A health care power of attorney lets you choose who decides.
Does Medicaid protect a sibling who lives in my home?
Federal law limits liens and allows a penalty-free home transfer for a sibling who has an equity interest in the home and lived there at least a year before you entered a nursing home. A housemate isn’t covered.
How many older adults share a home with a sibling or housemate?
2,222,289 people 65+ in 2024, or 37.4 per 1,000 people 65+ in households.
Is this legal advice?
No. Talk with an estate planning attorney in your state.
Sources
Public-domain government sources only. Fetched 2026-10-24.
Data
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample, via the Census Data API: https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs1/pums
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 and 2019 1-year estimates, table B09020 (relationship by household type for the population 65 years and over; denominator and trend): https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs1
- U.S. Census Bureau, PUMS documentation (replicate weights and accuracy): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/microdata/documentation.html
Law and benefits
- 42 U.S. Code 1396p(a)(2)(C) (no lien while a co-resident sibling with an equity interest lives in the home), (b)(2)(B) (recovery on a lien), (b)(4) (estate definition) and (c)(2)(A)(iii) (home transfer to a sibling): https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section1396p&num=0&edition=prelim
- Social Security Administration, SSI Spotlight on Living Arrangements (shelter and food rules effective Sept. 30, 2024): https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/spotlights/spot-living-arrangements.htm
- Internal Revenue Service, What’s new — estate and gift tax (2026 basic exclusion amount): https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/whats-new-estate-and-gift-tax
Cite this data
Family Estate Guide, “Seniors Sharing a Home With a Sibling or Housemate by State,” October 2026. https://familyestateguide.com/estate-planning-data/seniors-sharing-a-home-by-state/
You’re welcome to reuse the table with a link back to this page. The underlying government data is public.
Published October 24, 2026 by Family Estate Guide. Data vintage: American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates. Editorial standards.