Counties With Most Pre‑War Homes Face Preservation Issues

Pre‑war homes (built before 1939) are valued for durable construction and historic features but often contain hazardous legacy materials like asbestos and lead. Preserving them frequently requires more than individual homeowners, with local historic commissions or special permissions commonly needed to protect architectural integrity. Using U.S. Census Bureau 2023 five‑year estimates, Stacker compiled state-by-state lists ranking counties by the percentage of homes built in 1939 or earlier. Those county rankings were published or republished for Tennessee, Colorado, Virginia, Washington, North Carolina, Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky and Kansas, highlighting where concentrations of pre‑war housing and related preservation challenges persist.