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74 | TH E M R EP O RT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST DATA Higher Education Equals Homeownership College grads are more likely to own homes than those who choose to forgo a degree, suggesting that even with all the worry about student-loan debt, more education is worth it. A ccording to a recently released report by Trulia, there is data to confirm that academic degrees increase homeownership rates. The research for this report comes from the U.S. Census' 2015 5-Year American Community Survey (ACS). The re- port noted that education levels are based on all household heads over the age of 22, but income represents household income. This report focused on the biggest 100 metros according to the number of occupied housing units, along with national data figures from the 100 metros weighted by their number of occupied housing units. The figures revealed that more education tends to lead to greater incomes, which leads to more homebuyers. In fact, those with professional degrees, such as medical or law degrees, received the highest ownership rate overall at 76 percent. However, a future homebuyer doesn't necessarily need to go to medical or law school to increase their home-owning chances. In fact, a bachelor's degree might be the surest way to make homeownership more realistic. Homeownership rates are nearly 16 percentage points higher for those with a college degree compared to those with only a high school degree, representing the greatest difference among all education levels. So nationally, it is clear that higher education leads to higher levels of homeownership rates. But Trulia's data looks closely into metros as well, discovering that for those with higher- education degrees, some locations offer even stronger opportu- nities. For example, professional degree holders in Louisville, Kentucky, showed homeownership rates at 86.1 percent com- pared to the overall homeownership rate of 67.2 percent. When it comes to more expensive markets, homeownership is a challenge no matter how much work a future homebuyer puts into their academic success or the income it earns. In cities like San Francisco, even a professional degree doesn't make the home- buying struggle any easier. With the median home valued at $1.2 million, professional degree holders, with median household earn- ings of $174,000, have a homeownership rate of 58.2 percent. Money Troubles Vex LGBTQ Sector When it comes to finances, middle-earners in the demographic report feeling insecure and worried. M iddle-income earn- ing LGBTQ Ameri- cans report more financial struggles— and less overall financial secu- rity—than other U.S. residents, according to recent research from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., also known as MassMutual. Just under half say they don't feel financially secure, and 60 percent worry daily about their household's financial situation. According to Wonhong Lee, Head of Diverse Markets at MassMutual, 47 percent of middle income-earning LGBTQ Americans "feel less than finan- cially secure" and "many often struggle with financial emergen- cies." "Overall," Lee said, "LGBTQ individuals tend to worry more about finances and are impacted more negatively by their finances than other middle Americans. For instance, 60 percent of LGBTQ individuals report often worrying every day about their household's financial situation, compared to 53 percent of the general population." These financial concerns are also more likely to impact LGBTQ Americans' health and daily lives. Sixty-five percent said worries about money impact their mental health and stress levels; 45 percent said it impacts their social life, diet, and ability to eat healthily; 30 percent said it impacts the frequency and quality of their family's medical care; and 28 percent said it affects their marriage or romantic relationship. Another 19 percent said money concerns even impact their ability to perform their job. LGBTQ Americans are also further behind on saving for retirement (70 percent say they're behind versus 63 percent of the general population), and they are more likely to worry about the overall direction of the coun- try, according to MassMutual's research. Eighty percent say the nation's trajectory is a concern compared to just 66 percent of the general population. "LGBTQ middle Americans are also more likely to be wor- ried that changes to the health care system could cause a loss of coverage for them or a loved one," MassMutual reported. On the other hand, the LGBTQ community placed value on living in the moment—36 percent said, "spending money to enjoy myself now is more important than sav- ing for the future," compared to 27 percent of the general population. This gap in ethos is not limited to just the financial industry; the mortgage industry has long strived to be sensitive to the differing needs of the diverse communities it serves. As Lee puts it: "There are many different types of households and families in America. Both our challenge, and our opportunity, is to better understand how we can help all types of households."