Bet you can't guess who leads the U.S. in mansion ownership

It’s not Miami. It’s not even Beverly Hills or Honolulu. The metropolitan market in the United States with the largest percentage of mansions among its owner-occupied homes?

Provo/Orem, Utah.

And No. 2 and No. 3 are hard to believe, too. Ogden/Clearfield and Salt Lake City.

It’s not Miami. It’s not even Beverly Hills or Honolulu. The metropolitan market in the United States with the largest percentage of mansions among its owner-occupied homes?

Provo/Orem, Utah.

And No. 2 and No. 3 are hard to believe, too. Ogden/Clearfield and Salt Lake City.

That’s right, Utahns build big homes. That’s according to the financial website SmartAsset. The researchers for SmartAsset analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s survey of people living in America’s largest 100 metro areas. They calculated the percentage of owner-occupied homes that have at least five bedrooms and 15 rooms total.  The total included living spaces only, not storage closets, bathrooms, hallways and so on.

Provo/Orem, Ogden/Clearfield and Salt Lake City claimed the top three spots in the analysis and all have mansion ratios of more than 1.4 percent. Only four other U.S. metros broke the 1 percent mark in the study. Provo-Orem is way ahead of the pack at 2.4 percent. Odgen/Clearfield came in at 1.57 percent and Salt Lake City claims 1.44 percent mansion owners.

The only other metro areas above 1 percent were Bridgeport/Stamford/Norwalk, Connecticut (1.37 percent); Washington, D.C. (1.11 percent); Atlanta (1.11 percent); and Honolulu (1.02 percent).

“Since most of us will never own a mansion, the best we can do is ogle at those that belong to others,” said SmartAsset in its online story about mansions. “If you do have the budget for a mansion, however, you might want to start your housing search in Utah. The Beehive State is home to all three of the metro areas with the most mansions.”

“The Provo area has one of the strongest regional economies in the nation, posting major job growth in recent years,” the website continued. “Families in Provo are also much larger than those in the rest of the country, with an average household size of 3.62 (the national average is 2.63).

“Perhaps that combination of an economic boom and large families has led to the abundance of mansions in the Provo metro. Or maybe people in Provo simply love giant houses.

“Can’t find your ideal mansion in Provo? Drive north an hour to the Ogden area, which has a crop of mansions itself. The Shadow Valley area in south Ogden is particularly well-stocked with big houses, many of which have brilliant views from the slopes of the Wasatch Mountains.

“Utah’s biggest metro area (Salt Lake City) isn’t quite as mansion-filled as the Provo and Ogden metros, but it beats every other major U.S. city. The city of Holladay, located southeast of Salt Lake City, might be a good place to begin any mansion hunt. It has a high concentration of multi-million dollar homes,” Smart Asset concluded.

Orlando, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Oxnard/Thousand Oaks/Ventura, California, rounded out the top 10.