Regional Variations on Most Popular Exterior Wall Materials

The most common exterior wall materials on homes started in 2019 were stucco and vinyl siding, according to data from the Census Bureau's Survey of Construction (SOC). Stucco was used on 27% of new homes started in 2019, followed closely by vinyl siding at 25%, fiber cement siding (such as Hardiplank or Hardboard) at 21% and brick or brick veneer at 20%.

Far smaller shares of single-family homes started last year had wood or wood products (5%) or stone or rock (1%) as the principal exterior wall material.

The Census Bureau's SOC data are available by the nine census divisions, and there are substantial differences in the use of exterior materials across the geographic areas. For example, vinyl rules in the Middle Atlantic and New England, with each census tract posting a market share of 75% and 68%, respectively of the new homes started in 2019 using this building material.

Meanwhile, stucco was the most widely used primary exterior wall material in the Pacific, Mountain and South Atlantic divisions in 2019, with a 57%, 52% and 38% market share, respectively.

Brick or brick veneer was the top choice in East and West South Central divisions. In the West South Central, 62% of the new single-family homes started in 2019 used brick or brick veneer as the primary exterior material, compared to 44% in East South Central division.

NAHB economist Ashok Chaluvadi provides more analysis in this Eye on Housing blog post.