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Washing Machine Ownership Statistics: U.S. and International Data

2024 U.S. washer counts by housing, climate, income, and household size, plus washer types, ages, use, and selected international ownership rates.

November 11, 2026 7 min read discountelectrics.com Editorial Team

Contents

Washing machine ownership statistics in U.S. homes by housing type

In 2024, 112.99 million U.S. primary occupied housing units had a clothes washer at home. This is a count of housing units, not a percentage of households or people. The estimate covers primary occupied housing units in the 50 states and District of Columbia; vacant and seasonal units, second homes, military houses, and group quarters are excluded. The figures below describe how many units in each housing type had a washer, rather than the share of that type with one. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.1)

U.S. housing type, 2024Units with a clothes washer (millions)
Single-family detached80.38
Single-family attached7.72
Apartment, 2–4-unit building5.47
Apartment, 5-or-more-unit building13.61
Mobile home5.82

The detached-home category accounts for the largest reported count in this table, at 80.38 million units. The apartment figures distinguish smaller buildings from those with 5 or more units: their counts were 5.47 million and 13.61 million, respectively. These are absolute counts, so they reflect how many occupied units fell into each category as well as washer presence. They cannot by themselves show which housing type had the highest ownership rate. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.1)

Washing machine ownership statistics by U.S. climate region

The 2024 regional counts also measure primary occupied housing units with a clothes washer at home. The Very cold/Cold and Mixed-humid regions had the largest counts among the listed regions, at 35.91 million and 35.40 million. The other regional counts were 22.59 million in Hot-humid, 13.30 million in Mixed-dry/Hot-dry, and 5.81 million in Marine. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.6)

U.S. climate region, 2024Units with a clothes washer (millions)
Very cold/Cold35.91
Mixed-humid35.40
Mixed-dry/Hot-dry13.30
Hot-humid22.59
Marine5.81

These values are counts, not regional ownership percentages. For example, the Marine count of 5.81 million does not establish a lower rate of washer ownership than in another region: the table reports units with washers, and the regional housing-unit totals would be needed to compare prevalence. Climate-region labels are the categories used in the EIA table; they should not be read as a ranking of climate effects on appliance ownership. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.6)

Washing machine ownership statistics by annual household income

The EIA’s 2024 income breakdown counts primary occupied U.S. housing units with a washer in each annual household income band. The largest reported count was 29.94 million units in the $100,000–$199,999 band. The next largest listed count was 26.59 million in the $60,000–$99,999 band, followed by 25.76 million in the $30,000–$59,999 band. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.5)

Annual household income, 2024Units with a clothes washer (millions)
Less than $10,0003.44
$10,000–$14,9993.53
$15,000–$29,9999.93
$30,000–$59,99925.76
$60,000–$99,99926.59
$100,000–$199,99929.94
$200,000 or more13.80

The income bands are useful for locating counts within the published categories, but the figures do not give an ownership rate for each band. The number of units in an income group matters to its count, and these entries should not be treated as evidence that income alone determines whether a home has a washer. The categories retain the table’s boundaries, including the open-ended “Less than $10,000” and “$200,000 or more” groups. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.5)

Washing machine ownership statistics by household size

In 2024, 33.82 million one-person U.S. primary occupied housing units had a clothes washer at home. The count for two-person units was 39.35 million, the largest of the household-size categories shown. Counts were 16.35 million for three-person units, 13.22 million for four-person units, and 10.26 million for units with 5 or more persons. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.4)

Number of household persons, 2024Units with a clothes washer (millions)
One person33.82
Two persons39.35
Three persons16.35
Four persons13.22
Five or more persons10.26

These counts classify housing units by the number of people in the household; they are not counts of individual residents. Nor do they state the proportion of one-person or larger households that have a washer. The 5-or-more category groups households of different sizes together, so it does not provide separate figures for 5-person, 6-person, or larger households. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.4)

washing machine ownership: U.S. washer type, age, and weekly use statistics

EIA’s 2024 table reports 79.48 million primary occupied U.S. housing units with a top-loading washer and 33.51 million with a front-loading washer. These are reported type counts. The age categories describe the washer in the housing unit: 18.45 million units had one less than 2 years old; 29.78 million had one 2 to 4 years old; and 38.94 million had one 5 to 9 years old. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.1)

Older age categories were also recorded. In 2024, 16.03 million units had a washer 10 to 14 years old, 5.54 million had one 15 to 19 years old, and 4.26 million had one 20 or more years old. These figures describe age bands for washers in housing units; they do not measure appliance condition, repair history, or expected remaining life. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.1)

Reported weekly use was grouped by loads per week. The table lists 1.50 million units reporting 0 loads per week, 78.58 million reporting 1 to 4 loads, 26.78 million reporting 5 to 9 loads, and 5.34 million reporting 10 to 15 loads. These are housing-unit counts within usage bands, not average loads per household. The reported 0-load category is retained as stated and should not be interpreted as absence of a washer. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.1)

The 2024 EIA appliance tables are preliminary estimates released in March 2026. They use counts in millions of housing units, and rounding can prevent categories from summing exactly. The published notes also identify some withheld estimates with “Q”; the figures above are the checked values for the specific categories listed. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table HC3.1)

International washing machine ownership statistics

International sources report household ownership as percentages, which differs from the U.S. EIA counts in millions of housing units. Statbel’s 2024 Household Budget Survey reported washing-machine ownership of 96% among private households nationally in Belgium. Its regional figures were 97% in Flanders, 96% in Wallonia, and 88% in Brussels. The survey covered nearly 5,500 Belgian households; its population description excludes collective households. (Statbel, Household Budget Survey)

Ireland’s Survey on Income and Living Conditions series gives selected household ownership observations over time. In 2004, 93.1% of households had a washing machine at home; the reported value was 96.3% in 2010, 97.2% in 2015, 98.1% in 2018, and 98.1% in 2019. These are observations for the stated years in Ireland’s series, not a harmonized comparison with Belgium or the U.S. (Ireland Central Statistics Office, SILC household amenities and access to services, 2004–2019)

For England, the 2011 Energy Follow-Up Survey interview survey estimated that 96.5% of households had any type of washing machine, including washer-dryers. The report describes its ownership results as representing the English housing stock, estimated at 21.9 million households. This is a survey estimate for England in 2011, and its inclusion of washer-dryers is part of the source’s stated measure. (UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, Energy Follow-Up Survey: Domestic appliances, cooking and cooling equipment)

Together, these figures show the types of published measures available: U.S. housing-unit counts by characteristics, and household percentages from selected international surveys. Differences in dates, populations, and survey definitions mean the figures should be read within their own source and scope rather than combined into a single ranking.

Sources

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