Largo tops national ranking for cities with most manufactured homes

One in four residences in Largo are manufactured homes, a recent study found — the highest percentage of any community in the nation and a harbinger of housing trends in communities across the state. 

Online self storage marketplace and info hub StorageCafe.com released its study on the growing number of factory-built homes earlier this month. The findings, which use U.S. Census data, show that Florida tops the nation in the number of manufactured homes with more than 824,000 — driven by high demand in growth corridors like Largo and Jacksonville and a favorable climate for alternative, affordable housing. 

Roughly 28% of all housing in the City of Largo is manufactured, the study found. That means out of 50,400 homes, roughly 14,100 are manufactured, the study says. 

“That scale makes manufactured housing the norm rather than the exception, shaping local financing, services and community amenities,” the study says. 

When it comes to numbers of manufactured homes, Jacksonville ranks third nationally with 15,400 manufactured homes, or 3.4% of all housing. Mesa, Arizona tops the list with 29,300 manufactured homes followed by Phoenix, with 20,500. Lakeland and Davie also made the list, with manufactured homes representing 17.3% and 14.8% of their housing markets, respectively. 

Jacksonville falls under HUD Wind Zone II, which requires homes to withstand winds of up to 100 mph, making construction more costly than in inland regions. However, manufactured housing has modernized to meet these requirements while still keeping home ownership within reach, particularly in regions squeezed by coastal land values, the study shows. 

In Florida, where roughly 7.8% of all housing is manufactured homes, the price gap compared to traditional housing stands out: roughly $135,000 for a manufactured or mobile home (excluding land costs) compared with a median $397,000 for traditional homes, the study says. That’s roughly one-third the cost of the statewide median home price and a nearly 200% difference, even after accounting for potential land lease costs in non-co-op communities. 

Florida’s placement rules for manufactured and mobile homes are generally statewide and permissive, with some details varying by location, according to StorageCafe. Florida also has one of the largest self storage markets in the nation, with an average of nearly 10 square feet of self storage space per person, the study found. 

“Manufactured housing sits at the crossroads of affordability and quality,” says Emilia Man, lead analyst at StorageCafe. “With regulators and buyers finally aligned, the industry is ready for its moment.”