America's Modern Ghost Towns

Housing

Published: April 11, 2024 9:50 am

Homes sitting vacant, not being taken care, are often unsightly and can add to urban blight. There are different reasons why homes are unoccupied, including rental units that landlords are struggling to fill because of lack of demand or homes abandoned by owners who are struggling to maintain them and/or sell them. There were 1.3 million vacant homes across the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2023, or 1.27% of all properties, according to ATTOM, a land, property, and real estate data company. In some cities, however, this figure is far far higher.

To identify America’s 50 ghost towns, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed ATTOM’s 2023 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report. The report calculated vacancy rates in the fourth quarter of 2024 in over 16,000 U.S. ZIP codes with at least 1,000 housing units using tax assessor data. ZIP codes in popular vacation destinations, where high vacancy rates are largely seasonal, were excluded from our analysis. We ranked here the 50 ZIP codes with the highest share of homes that are vacant. We also added data on decade population change from the Census Bureau’s decennial censuses as well as median home value from the 2022 American Community Survey (five-year estimates).

Among the ZIP codes on this list, the share of homes sitting vacant ranges from 14.6% to 32.1% — many times the national average. The vast majority of the ZIP codes on this list are in Midwest, Rust Belt, cities that have suffered for decades from economic decline, leaving depressed real estate markets. The next represented region is the South. The state with the most ZIP codes on the list is Michigan, with nine of the ZIP codes in Detroit. Alabama is next with 10 ZIP codes, five of them in Birmingham. Indiana and Missouri are next, with six each, including five in Gary, Indiana, and five in St. Louis. (Also see, Buying a House In These Markets Would Eat Up Most of Your Wages.)

All but two of the ZIP codes on the list reported significant population decline from 2010 to 2020, including 26 in which the population declined by 20% or more. Similarly, median home values in these neighborhoods are all considerably lower than the median statewide, ranging from 80% of the statewide value to as little as 14% of the statewide value in one ZIP code in Flint, Michigan.

The ATTOM report also shows how many properties in each ZIP code are in pre-foreclosure, so-called zombie homes — pre-foreclosure properties abandoned by owners

50. ZIP 63133 — Saint Louis, Missouri

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 379, or 14.6% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 45,139 (2.0% of all homes – 6th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 4
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -21.0%
Median home value, 2022: $54,900 (compared to $199,400 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 6,945

49. ZIP 35224 — Birmingham, Alabama

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 387, or 14.7% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 33,793 (2.0% of all homes – 4th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 2
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -12.6%
Median home value, 2022: $78,500 (compared to $179,400 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 5,535

48. ZIP 25387 — Charleston, West Virginia

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 320, or 14.9% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 12,314 (1.9% of all homes – 9th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: N/A
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): #N/A
Median home value, 2022: $85,300 (compared to $145,800 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 5,043

47. ZIP 25703 — Huntington, West Virginia

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 176, or 15.0% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 12,314 (1.9% of all homes – 9th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: N/A
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -26.7%
Median home value, 2022: $79,400 (compared to $145,800 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 5,097

46. ZIP 48504 — Flint, Michigan

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Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 1,671, or 15.0% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 77,875 (2.1% of all homes – 3rd highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 11 (zombie FC: 1)
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -21.5%
Median home value, 2022: $44,400 (compared to $201,100 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 24,738

45. ZIP 73651 — Hobart, Oklahoma

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 266, or 15.0% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 30,085 (2.3% of all homes – the highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 3
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -9.7%
Median home value, 2022: $60,300 (compared to $170,500 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 4,076

44. ZIP 62205 — East Saint Louis, Illinois

View from East St. Louis by Paul Sableman

View from East St. Louis (CC BY 2.0) by Paul Sableman

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 455, or 15.1% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 67,985 (1.7% of all homes – 12th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 18 (zombie FC: 5)
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -28.4%
Median home value, 2022: $44,600 (compared to $239,100 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 5,807

43. ZIP 62206 — East Saint Louis, Illinois

Looking towards East St. Louis and the mississippi river flooding from the top of the st louis arch in St. Louis, missouri

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 843, or 15.1% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 67,985 (1.7% of all homes – 12th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 52 (zombie FC: 8)
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -21.7%
Median home value, 2022: $51,700 (compared to $239,100 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 13,433

42. ZIP 64128 — Kansas City, Missouri

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 772, or 15.4% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 45,139 (2.0% of all homes – 6th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 1 (zombie FC: 1)
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): 2.2%
Median home value, 2022: $53,500 (compared to $199,400 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 12,076

41. ZIP 43604 — Toledo, Ohio

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 199, or 15.7% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 74,856 (1.9% of all homes – 8th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 2
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -8.9%
Median home value, 2022: $50,400 (compared to $183,300 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 9,811

40. ZIP 63107 — Saint Louis, Missouri

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 579, or 15.7% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 45,139 (2.0% of all homes – 6th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 2
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -25.9%
Median home value, 2022: $55,200 (compared to $199,400 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 9,069

39. ZIP 71101 — Shreveport, Louisiana

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 345, or 15.9% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 22,793 (1.6% of all homes – 14th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: N/A
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -20.0%
Median home value, 2022: $88,400 (compared to $198,300 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 6,920

38. ZIP 36105 — Montgomery, Alabama

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 748, or 16.0% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 33,793 (2.0% of all homes – 4th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 4
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -17.3%
Median home value, 2022: $83,200 (compared to $179,400 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 10,559

37. ZIP 46404 — Gary, Indiana

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 1,000, or 16.0% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 45,870 (2.0% of all homes – 5th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 36 (zombie FC: 4)
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -9.6%
Median home value, 2022: $86,500 (compared to $183,600 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 16,702

36. ZIP 35064 — Fairfield, Alabama

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 631, or 16.6% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 33,793 (2.0% of all homes – 4th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 3
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -11.4%
Median home value, 2022: $116,500 (compared to $179,400 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 10,083

35. ZIP 48215 — Detroit, Michigan

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 669, or 16.6% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 77,875 (2.1% of all homes – 3rd highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 4 (zombie FC: 1)
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -22.4%
Median home value, 2022: $106,200 (compared to $201,100 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 10,542

34. ZIP 36610 — Mobile, Alabama

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 795, or 16.7% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 33,793 (2.0% of all homes – 4th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 4
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -26.6%
Median home value, 2022: $52,800 (compared to $179,400 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 9,948

33. ZIP 60426 — Harvey, Illinois

Vacant homes, Q4 2023: 1,520, or 16.8% of all homes
Vacant homes statewide, Q4 2023: 67,985 (1.7% of all homes – 12th highest )
Homes in foreclosure, Q4 2023: 57 (zombie FC: 5)
10-yr. population change (2010-2020): -18.5%
Median home value, 2022: $90,200 (compared to $239,100 statewide)
Total population, 2022: 23,963

32. ZIP 39204 — Jackson, Mississippi

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