Percentage of Homes With Central Air: 67% Nationally, 90.4% in Florida, 7.5% in Vermont

The percentage of homes with central air runs from 90.4% in Florida to 7.5% in Vermont

Central air is the default across the South and most of the Midwest and the exception in the Northeast corridor, the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and the northern Rockies. The split follows climate and building age more than income.

Central air (RECS definition): A home counts as using central air when its main or secondary cooling equipment is a central air conditioner or a central (ducted) heat pump. Ductless mini-splits, window and wall units and portable units count as individual units. Heat pumps appear here only as cooling equipment; heating shares are covered in our heat pump sales report.

In 2020, 67% of US homes used central air and 89% used some form of air conditioning (EIA, RECS 2020 state highlights). Florida led at 90.4%, followed by South Carolina at 86.4%, Tennessee at 85.8% and Arizona at 85.7% (our tabulation of the RECS 2020 microdata, which rounds to EIA's published figures).

At the other end, central air reached 7.5% of homes in Vermont, 9.6% in Maine and 11.6% in Hawaii. New York (29.3%) and Washington (29.5%) are the two most populous states where fewer than a third of homes use central air. Texas sits at 83.0% and California at 53.7%.

Central air went from one in three US homes in 1985 to nearly three in four in 2023

Our tabulation of 40 years of American Housing Survey microdata shows central air passing half of occupied homes in 1997 and climbing every survey since, while homes with no AC fell by more than two thirds as a share.

In 1985, 33.3% of occupied US homes had central air, 29.4% relied on room units and 37.3% had no air conditioning, about 33.0 million homes (our tabulation of the AHS 1985 national public use file). By 1997 central air reached 50.2%. In 2023 it reached 73.9%, or 98,439 thousand of 133,231 thousand occupied units (Census AHS 2023, Table C-03-AO).

That is a gain of 40.6 percentage points and 69.0 million homes with central air over 38 years. The room-unit share barely moved, from 29.4% to 19.2%: most of the growth came from homes that had no AC at all and from new construction, which the AHS counts as it enters the stock.

43.8 million US homes do not use central air, and five states hold 43% of them

Applying each state's 2020 central AC share to its 2025 occupied housing count gives the number of homes that cool with room units, mini-splits or nothing at all. Population, not climate, drives the ranking.

Our estimate: 43.8 million of the 134.1 million occupied US homes counted by the 2025 American Community Survey did not use central air, assuming the RECS 2020 share held. California leads with about 6,430 thousand homes, then New York (5,561 thousand), Pennsylvania (2,514 thousand), Washington (2,242 thousand) and Texas (1,973 thousand). Those five states hold 18.7 million homes, 43.3% of the 51-state total.

Texas makes the list despite an 83.0% central share because it has 11.6 million occupied homes. Florida, at 90.4% central, still has about 898 thousand homes without a central system.

In 13 states, central air is the exception rather than the rule

Thirteen states use central air in fewer than half of their homes. Together they hold one in three of the nation's homes without central air.

• Alaska: withheld by EIA (RSE above 50%)
• Vermont: 7.5%
• Maine: 9.6%
• Hawaii: 11.6%
• New Hampshire: 21.1%
• New York: 29.3%
• Washington: 29.5%
• Rhode Island: 31.2%
• Massachusetts: 32.1%
• Connecticut: 34.0%
• Wyoming: 39.8%
• Montana: 40.1%
• Oregon: 49.1%

These 13 states have 20.5 million occupied homes in 2025 and an estimated 14.3 million homes without central air, 33.1% of the national total. In New England and New York, individual units dominate: 60.3% of Connecticut homes and 61.1% of New York homes used window, wall, portable or mini-split units in 2020. In Washington, Hawaii and Alaska the larger group is homes with no AC.

Renters and small apartment buildings are least likely to have central air

Housing type and tenure split the market almost as sharply as geography.

In 2020, 75.3% of single-family detached homes used central air, against 53.3% of apartments in buildings of five or more units and 41.0% in buildings of two to four units. Mobile homes stood at 58.0%. Owners used central air in 74.7% of homes and renters in 52.1%; 16.5% of renter homes used no AC, against 8.8% of owner homes (our tabulation of RECS 2020 microdata).

Large apartment buildings also have the oldest central systems: 36.5% of central AC in buildings of five or more units was 15 or more years old, against 21.6% in single-family detached homes.

Nearly one in four central AC systems was 15 or older in 2020, and cooler states keep theirs longest

Of the 82.69 million homes whose main cooling was central AC in 2020, 19.3 million had a system 15 or more years old. The share is highest in the cooler northern divisions and lowest in the hot South.

In 2020, 23.3% of central AC systems in US homes were 15 or more years old and 11.5% were 20 or more (our tabulation of RECS 2020 microdata). Another 17.12 million systems were 10 to 14 years old; any of them still running in 2025 has crossed 15. The median system fell in the 5 to 9 year band: 55.9% were under 10 years old.

By division, the West North Central (30.5%) and New England (30.4%) had the largest shares of central systems 15 or more years old; the West South Central (17.7%) and South Atlantic (18.0%) had the smallest. Across 42 states with reliable estimates, the share of old systems falls as cooling degree days rise (correlation of -0.69). Florida's share was 12.8%; Minnesota's was 34.7%.

Why one federal source says 11.3% of homes lack AC and another says 6.9%

RECS counts homes that used AC equipment in 2020; the AHS and the Census LACE model count homes that have working AC. The gap is 4.4 points nationally and wider in mild states.

RECS 2020 puts US homes without air conditioning at 11.3%. The Census Bureau's 2023 Local Air Conditioning Estimates put them at 6.9%, or 8,807,334 households, matching the AHS 2023 share of 6.9%. LACE is an experimental model that applies the AHS question to American Community Survey records.

In 17 states the RECS no-AC share exceeds the LACE share by more than 5 points. Washington shows 47.5% in RECS 2020 and 34.2% in LACE 2023; Alabama shows 6.5% and 0.8%. A home that owns a window unit but did not run it counts as having AC in the AHS and as not using it in RECS.

What the central air map means for an HVAC contractor

The data describe two different service markets: replacement of an aging ducted fleet in the South and Midwest, and first-time cooling in the Northeast and West.

• Sunbelt operators work in states where 81.5% to 90.4% of homes already use central air, so revenue depends on replacement cycles. Their fleets are younger: 12.8% of Florida central systems were 15 or older in 2020.
• Northern operators face older fleets: 30.5% of central systems in the West North Central division were 15 or older, which points to replacement work concentrated in a shorter cooling season.
• Northeast and Pacific Northwest operators sell into homes that mostly lack ducts: 43.8 million homes nationally do not use central air, and New York alone accounts for about 5,561 thousand.
• Affordability limits the replacement pool: in 2024, 6.88 million homes (5.2%) could not use their AC at some point because it was broken and they could not afford repair or replacement (our tabulation of RECS 2024 microdata).

For owners weighing how these markets affect a sale, see our guide to selling an HVAC business.

State-by-state findings

1. 67% of US homes (83.16 million of 123.53 million) used central air conditioning or a central heat pump in 2020 (EIA RECS 2020).^[1]
2. 89% of US homes used some form of air conditioning in 2020, and 11.3% (14.02 million) used none (EIA RECS 2020).^[1][3]
3. 26% of US homes (32.42 million) used window, wall, portable or mini-split units in 2020 (EIA RECS 2020).^[1]
4. Florida had the highest central air share in 2020 at 90.4%; Vermont the lowest published share at 7.5% (RECS 2020 microdata).^[3]
5. 13 states used central air in fewer than half of their homes in 2020 (RECS 2020 microdata).^[3]
6. 43.8 million US homes did not use central air in 2025, by our estimate from RECS 2020 shares and ACS 2025 occupied units.^[3][17]
7. California had about 6,430 thousand homes without central air in 2025 and New York about 5,561 thousand (our estimate).^[3][17]
8. Central air reached 73.9% of occupied US homes in the 2023 American Housing Survey, up from 33.3% in 1985 (AHS).^[10][15]
9. Occupied US homes without AC fell from 37.3% in 1985 to 6.9% in 2023 (AHS).^[15][10]
10. 23.3% of central AC systems in US homes (19.3 million) were 15 or more years old in 2020 (RECS 2020 microdata).^[3]
11. 30.5% of central AC systems in the West North Central division were 15 or more years old in 2020, against 17.7% in the West South Central (RECS 2020 microdata).^[3]
12. Renters used central air in 52.1% of homes in 2020, owners in 74.7% (RECS 2020 microdata).^[3]
13. The Census Bureau's 2023 Local Air Conditioning Estimates put US households without any AC at 6.9% (8,807,334).^[19]
14. 6.88 million US homes (5.2%) could not use their AC at some point in 2024 because it was broken and repair was unaffordable (RECS 2024 microdata).^[9][8]

Rankings and ratios we derived

Download the calculations (CSV)

Executive summary

• 67% of US homes used central air in 2020 and 89% used some form of AC (EIA RECS 2020).
• State shares range from 90.4% in Florida to 7.5% in Vermont; 13 states are below half.
• We estimate 43.8 million US homes did not use central air in 2025; California, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Texas hold 43.3% of them.
• AHS microdata show central air rising from 33.3% of occupied homes in 1985 to 73.9% in 2023.
• 19.3 million central AC systems (23.3%) were 15 or more years old in 2020, with older fleets in cooler divisions.
• Renters (52.1%) and small apartment buildings (41.0%) lag owners (74.7%) on central air.
• Federal no-AC estimates differ (11.3% in RECS 2020, 6.9% in AHS and LACE 2023) because they ask different questions.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides, services and research

• HVAC Business Failure Rate: How Many New Contractors Survive One, Five and Ten Years
• HVAC Business Owner Age: How Old the Owners Are, per Census Data
• HVAC Business Profit Margin: What the Census and IRS Data Show (2026)
• HVAC Industry Employment: Monthly Jobs at Plumbing and HVAC Contractors Since 1990
• All HVAC business research

Reproduce this analysis

Every figure comes from the files below. The scripts that pulled and computed them are kept with the report and can be re-run.

Data quality and exclusions

• RECS 2020 microdata: 18,496 records, 0 excluded. Our state shares round to all 152 published, non-withheld state cells in EIA's state AC table (any AC, central, individual); 1 cell (Alaska central) is withheld by EIA and shown as withheld here.
• 6 states have a no-AC share with RSE above 30% and are flagged in table t1; Alaska's central share (RSE 56.6%) and Maine's and Alaska's 15+ age shares (RSE above 50%) are withheld.
• AHS public use files: at least one older CSV file contains NUL bytes, which we stripped before parsing; the 2013 result still equals the published table. 0 occupied units had a missing AC code in any of the 9 years tabulated.
• AHS 2013 validation: our central AC tabulation (77,315 thousand) equals the Census published table; 2017 to 2023 PUF estimates equal Table Creator values except 2017, where Census rounds to 4 significant digits.
• ACS 2025: Puerto Rico (1 row) excluded because RECS and LACE cover the 50 states and DC only.
• RECS 2024 microdata: 16,676 records; our total of homes unable to use AC (8.16 million) equals EIA Table HC11.1.

Methodology

Source selection: we used only federal statistical sources for figures: EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS 2020 final, March 2023; RECS 2024 preliminary, March 2026), the Census/HUD American Housing Survey (1985 to 2023), the Census American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates (released October 29, 2026) and the Census Bureau's 2023 Local Air Conditioning Estimates (released May 19, 2026). Trade press and consumer sites were read only to check what is already published.

State shares: we tabulated the RECS 2020 public microdata (18,496 homes) with the final weight NWEIGHT and computed standard errors with the 60 jackknife replicate weights, variance = (59/60) x sum of squared replicate deviations, as EIA's microdata guide specifies. Our state percentages round to every published value in EIA's state air conditioning table, and our RSEs match EIA's published RSEs.

Definitions: central AC means main or secondary equipment is a central air conditioner or central heat pump (ACEQUIPM_PUB or ACEQUIPAUXTYPE_PUB = 1). No AC means AIRCOND = 0. System age refers to main equipment (ACEQUIPAGE) and is reported only for homes whose main equipment is central.

Trend: for 1985 to 2015 we tabulated AHS national public use files: occupied units are ISTATUS = 1 (INTSTATUS = 1 in 2015); central AC is AIRSYS = 1, room units AIR = 1 without central, and none otherwise (ACPRIMARY codes in 2015). Weights are WEIGHT (1985 to 1997, 2015) and WGT90GEO (2001 to 2013). Our 2013 central AC total equals the published 77,315 thousand. 2017 to 2023 use Census Table Creator estimates.

Signature estimate: homes without central AC in 2025 = (1 minus the state's RECS 2020 central share) x the state's ACS 2025 occupied housing units (B25002_002). The national figure uses the national share; the state figures sum to 43.3 million.

Conflicts: RECS (uses AC), AHS and LACE (has working AC) measure different things. We report each separately and never subtract across sources except in the explicitly labelled gap metric.

Last updated 2026-11-02. Data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0. Owners who want a figure for their own company can use the valuation form.

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.

Sources, ranked by quality

Tier 1: primary and official sources (22)

• [1] U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS 2020: Highlights for air conditioning in U.S. homes by state, 2020 (final release March 2023). 2020. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [2] U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS 2020 Table HC7.1: Air conditioning in U.S. homes, by housing unit type, 2020. 2020. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [3] U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS 2020 public use microdata file, version 7 (18,496 households). 2020. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [4] U.S. Energy Information Administration. Using the RECS 2020 microdata file to compute estimates and standard errors (June 2023). 2020. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [5] U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS 2020 codebook for public file, version 7. 2020. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [6] U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS 2020 state data page (housing characteristics release date March 29, 2023). 2020. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [7] U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS 2024 housing characteristics tables page (air conditioning tables: data will be released in spring 2027). 2024. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [8] U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS 2024 Table HC11.1: Household energy insecurity, 2024 (preliminary, March 2026). 2024. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [9] U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS 2024 public use microdata file, version 1 (16,676 households). 2024. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [10] U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. AHS 2023 Table Specifications and PUF Estimates for User Verification (Table C-03-AO). 2023. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [11] U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. AHS 2021 Table Specifications and PUF Estimates for User Verification (Table C-03-AO). 2021. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [12] U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. AHS 2019 Table Specifications and PUF Estimates for User Verification (Table C-03-AO). 2019. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [13] U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. AHS 2017 Table Specifications and PUF Estimates for User Verification (Table C-03-AO). 2017. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [14] U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. AHS 2013 National Summary Tables v1.2 (Table C-03-AO). 2013. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [15] U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. AHS national public use files 1985 to 2015 (CSV). 1985 to 2015. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [16] U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. AHS Subject Definitions and Table Index: 2015 to 2023 (primary air conditioning). 2015 to 2023. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [17] U.S. Census Bureau. ACS 2025 1-year table-based summary file, table B25002 (occupancy status). 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [18] U.S. Census Bureau. ACS 2025 data release page (2025 ACS 1-year estimates, October 29, 2026). 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [19] U.S. Census Bureau. 2023 Local Air Conditioning Estimates (LACE), state file. 2023 (modeled from AHS 2023 and ACS 2019 to 2023). Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [20] U.S. Census Bureau. 2023 LACE Quick Guide (updated November 2026). 2023. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [21] U.S. Census Bureau. Census Bureau Releases New Local Estimates of Air Conditioning Access (CB26.TPS.32, May 19, 2026). 2023. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [22] U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. AHS 2015 Historical Changes (primary and secondary air conditioning stubs). 2013 to 2015. Accessed 2026-11-02.

Tier 3: journalism and expert commentary (3)

• [23] Newsweek. Newsweek: Map shows states with worst air conditioning access (July 4, 2026). 2020 and 2023. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [24] Filterbuy. U.S. Cities That Lack Air Conditioning (August 13, 2026). AHS metro data. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [25] ACHR News. Snapshot of Residential A/C Market (December 25, 2017). 2016. Accessed 2026-11-02.