#30 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON | Seattle, Washington, has a population of about 754,000 people and is the largest city in the state. The share of the city’s homes that were built before 1940 is 23.7% with a total of 88,091. (MarkHatfield/E+ via Getty Images)

These cities in the U.S. have the most old homes

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Many people prefer a newly built house when looking to buy a home, while others are looking for character and history. There are still many cities in the United States filled with homes that were built before 1940. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 12.3% of all American homes were built before 1940 and only 4.6% were built in the past five years. Air filter brand Filterbuy analyzed cities in the United States to determine which have the most homes built before 1940. The analysis looked at midsize and large cities with populations of at least 150,000 people. If you’re looking to settle down in a town with historic charm, here are the midsize and large U.S. cities with the oldest homes.

#30 Seattle, Washington

#30 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON | Seattle, Washington, has a population of about 754,000 people and is the largest city in the state. The share of the city’s homes that were built before 1940 is 23.7% with a total of 88,091. (MarkHatfield/E+ via Getty Images)

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#29 Portland, Oregon

#29 PORTLAND, OREGON | Portland is a city in Oregon that has a population of about 665,000 people and is the largest city in the state. The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 27.6%, with a total of 82,428. (RyanJLane/E+ via Getty Images)

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#28 Richmond, Virginia

#28 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA | The first of the midsize cities with the most older homes, Richmond is the capital of Virginia with a population of about 232,000 people. Thirty percent of the homes in Richmond were built before 1940. (traveler1116/E+ via Getty Images)

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#27 Yonkers, New York

#27 YONKERS, NEW YORK | Yonkers, New York, has a population of 200,000 people. About 31% of the city’s homes were built before 1940. (DenisTangneyJr / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#26 Des Moines, Iowa

#26 DES MOINES, IOWA | Des Moines is the capital of Iowa and also its largest city with a population of 214,000. Nearly 32% of Des Moines homes were built before 1940. (Henryk Sadura/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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#25 New Orleans, Louisiana

#25 NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA | New Orleans has a population of about 390,000 people and is the largest city in Louisiana. The city’s share of homes that were built before 1940 is 32.2%, with a total of 61,959. (Art Wager/E+ via Getty Images)

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#24 Toledo, Ohio

#24 TOLEDO, OHIO | Toledo, Ohio, has a population of 273,000. About 32.6% of the homes in Toledo were built before 1940. (Mshake / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#23 Detroit, Michigan

#23 DETROIT, MICHIGAN | Detroit has a population of about 670,000. The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 32.7%, with a total of 117,572. (pawel.gaul / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#22 Washington, DC

#22 WASHINGTON, DC | Washington, D.C., is the nation’s capital with a population of about 705,000 people. The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 32.8%, with a total of 105,898. (JodiJacobson/E+ via Getty Images)

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#21 Akron, Ohio

#21 AKRON, OHIO | Akron is the fifth-largest city in Ohio with a population of almost 200,000. In Akron, 32.9% of the homes are considered old. (Sean Pavone/Shutterstock)

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#20 Oakland, California

#20 OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA | Oakland, California, has a population of about 433,000 people and is the eighth-largest city in the state. The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 35.8%, with a total of 65,364. (randy andy/Shutterstock)

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#19 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

#19 MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has a population of about 590,000 people. The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 36.7%, with a total of 95,525. (benkrut / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#18 Grand Rapids, Michigan

#18 GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN | Grand Rapids is the second-largest city in Michigan with a population of 201,000 people. More than 37% of homes in the city were built before 1940. (Michael Deemer/Shutterstock)

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#17 New York City, New York

#17 NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK | New York City is not only the largest city in the state but also the largest city in the United States with a population of 8.3 million people. The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 39%, with a total of 1,383,287. (Ryan DeBerardinis/Shutterstock)

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#16 St. Paul, Minnesota

#16 ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA | St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota and has a population of about 308,000 people. More than 40% of homes in the city were built before 1940. (JenniferPhotographyImaging iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#15 Chicago, Illinois

#15 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS | Chicago is the largest city in the state of Illinois and the third-largest city in the United States. It has a population of 2.7 million people. The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 40.4%, with a total number of almost 500,000. (stevegeer/E+ via Getty Images)

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#14 Cincinnati, Ohio

#14 CINCINNATI, OHIO | Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio with a population of about 304,000 people. Exactly 40.9% of the city’s homes are considered old. (szaffy / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#13 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

#13 PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA | Philadelphia is the sixth-largest city in the United States with 1.6 million people. The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 41.2%, with a total number of 285,003. (Sean Pavone/Shutterstock)

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#12 Springfield, Massachusetts

#12 SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS | Springfield is a midsize city in Massachusetts that has a population of about 154,000 people. According to Filterbuy’s report, 41.6% of homes in the city were built before 1940. (Dan Hanscom/Shutterstock)

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#11 Baltimore, Maryland

#11 BALTIMORE, MARYLAND | Baltimore has a population of almost 600,000 people. The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 42%, with a total of 123,352. (Jon Bilous/Shutterstock)

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#10 Worcester, Massachusetts

#10 WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS | Another city from Massachusetts, Worcester has a population of 185,000 people. The majority of homes in this city were not built before 1940, but 42.5% of the homes are considered old. (Sean Pavone / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#9 Minneapolis, Minnesota

#9 MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA | Minneapolis has a population of 430,000 people. The city’s share of homes that were built before 1940 is 43.8%, with a total number of 84,419 homes built before 1940. (akaplummer / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#8 San Francisco, California

#8 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA | San Francisco has a population of about 882,000 people and is famous for its colorful, historic “painted ladies.” The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 45.1%, with a total number of 183,323 homes built before 1940. (Mlenny / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#7 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

#7 PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA | Pittsburgh has a population of 300,000 people, and 48.2% of the homes in the city were built before 1940 and are considered old. (wotgat/Shutterstock)

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#6 Boston, Massachusetts

#6 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS | The third city on this list from Massachusetts, Boston is the state capital with a population of almost 700,000 people. The share of homes built before 1940 is 48.2% at a total of 146,449. (Jorge Salcedo/Shutterstock)

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#5 Cleveland, Ohio

#5 CLEVELAND, OHIO | Cleveland has a population of almost 400,00 people. Out of the large cities in this study, Cleveland had the highest share of homes that were built before 1940. The share of homes that were built before 1940 is 52.4%, with a total number of 108,943 homes considered old. (Davel5957 / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#4 Rochester, New York

#4 ROCHESTER, NEW YORK | Rochester is a city in upstate New York that has a population of about 206,000 people. A majority of the homes in the city are considered old with 57.2% of the homes built before 1940. (DebraMillet / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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#3 Providence, Rhode Island

#3 PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND | Providence, Rhode Island, has a population of 180,000 people. The majority of the homes in the city were built before 1940 — 57.4% to be exact. (stevegeer/E+ via Getty Images)

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#2 St. Louis, Missouri

#2 ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI | St. Louis is the city with the second-highest proportion of old homes in the country. According to the study, 58.7% of the homes in the city were built before 1940. (Rob Neville Photos/Shutterstock)

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#1 Buffalo, New York

#1 BUFFALO, NEW YORK | Buffalo is the second-largest city in the state of New York with a population of 255,000 people. In Buffalo, 59.8% of the homes in the city were built before 1940, the most among all the midsize and large cities in the country. (benedek/E+ via Getty Images)

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