How Many Vacant Homes Are There in Nevada?

What the New Study Found About Vacant Homes in Nevada

Nevada had approximately 123,878 vacant housing units as of the end of 2024, according to a study compiled by LendingTree using U.S. Census Bureau data. That's essentially unchanged from 2023, when the state had about 123,945 vacant homes. Nevada's overall housing vacancy rate actually dipped slightly year over year, from 9.4% to 9.3%, which puts the state 32nd highest in the country for its share of vacant homes — well behind the national leader, Maine, at 20.6%.

Why Is Nevada's Vacancy Rate Lower Than Other Vacation States?

LendingTree's chief consumer finance analyst, Matt Schulz, points to how differently Las Vegas functions as a tourist destination compared with most vacation markets. Where many tourist economies lean on a large stock of individually owned vacation homes and short-term rentals, the overwhelming majority of Las Vegas visitors stay in casino-hotel resorts instead. In plain terms: our tourism economy runs on the Strip's hotel-casino resorts, not on a large stock of privately owned vacation homes sitting empty most of the year, so the "seasonal and recreational" category that inflates vacancy rates in states like Maine, Vermont, and Alaska barely shows up here.

Does a Large Vacant-Homes Number Mean There's More Inventory Available?

Not really, and this is the part worth understanding before you get your hopes up. Across the country there are 14.5 million vacant homes, or about one in 10 homes in the overall U.S. housing stock. Of that total, 4.7 million are seasonal or recreational properties, 2.6 million are available to rent, and less than 800,000 are currently for sale. LendingTree's Schulz makes the point that a "vacant" classification and a home that's actually buyable are two very different things — which is exactly why buyers keep running into limited choices and stubbornly high prices even when a big statewide number suggests there should be more homes to pick from. We hear a version of this almost every week from buyers relocating to Henderson or Summerlin: they've read a headline about vacant housing stock and expect more selection than what's actually listed for sale once they sit down and pull real MLS inventory for their target neighborhoods.

How Nevada Compares to Other States

Vacancy rates vary widely nationally. Maine leads the country at 20.6%, followed by Vermont (19%) and Alaska (18%) — all states with large seasonal/vacation-home markets. Connecticut and Washington have the lowest vacancy rates at 7%, with California, New Jersey, and Oregon just behind at 8% each. Vacancies did decline nationally from 2023 to 2024, with the overall rate falling about 0.31 percentage points (roughly 302,000 homes), led by Wyoming, North Dakota, and Rhode Island, while only the District of Columbia and Oregon saw increases. Nevada's own dip, from 9.4% to 9.3%, fits that broader national trend of a slowly tightening vacancy picture.

What This Means If You're House-Hunting in Las Vegas or Henderson

The practical takeaway is that a statewide vacancy number isn't a substitute for checking real, current inventory in the specific neighborhoods you're considering — whether that's a master-planned community in Summerlin or Henderson or a resale in an established part of the valley. It also underscores why the valley's ongoing conversation about new-home supply, land costs, and apartment construction (all things we track closely) matters more to your day-to-day home search than a broad "vacant homes" headline. If you're relocating from out of state and sizing up how much real inventory exists in your price range, that's exactly the kind of question worth asking a local agent before you assume the market is looser than it is.

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Frequently asked questions

How many vacant homes are there in Nevada?
Nevada had approximately 123,878 vacant housing units as of the end of 2024, per a LendingTree study using U.S. Census Bureau data — essentially unchanged from about 123,945 in 2023.

What is Nevada's housing vacancy rate?
Nevada's overall housing vacancy rate was 9.3% in 2024, down slightly from 9.4% in 2023, ranking the state 32nd nationally.

Why does Nevada have fewer vacant homes than other tourist states?
Most Las Vegas visitors stay in casino hotels rather than vacation rentals or seasonal homes, which keeps Nevada's "seasonal and recreational" vacant-home category small compared with states like Maine or Vermont.

If there are 124,000 vacant homes in Nevada, why is housing still so expensive?
Because most of those homes aren't actually available to buy. Nationally, of 14.5 million vacant homes, 4.7 million are seasonal/recreational and 2.6 million are rentals — less than 800,000 are currently for sale.

Which states have the highest and lowest vacancy rates?
Maine has the highest at 20.6%, followed by Vermont (19%) and Alaska (18%). Connecticut and Washington tie for the lowest at 7%, with California, New Jersey, and Oregon at 8% each.

About Alexandra Malenkina

Alexandra Malenkina is the Broker/Owner of Nevada Realty Experts, a bilingual English/Russian brokerage serving the Las Vegas Valley. With 15+ years of experience and 300+ transactions, she ranks among the top 5% of 16,000+ Las Vegas agents and has 50+ five-star Google reviews and 74+ Zillow reviews. Nevada Real Estate License B.1001643.

Nevada Real Estate License B.1001643 | Nevada Realty Experts
3067 E Warm Springs Rd #300, Las Vegas, NV 89120 | 725-999-4902 | NevadaRealtyExperts.com
Equal Housing Opportunity. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Market figures are based on Las Vegas Review-Journal reporting of a LendingTree/U.S. Census Bureau study as of July 22, 2026, and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed.