How Americans Really Feel About Their Neighbors: 2025 Data

Over Three-Quarters Value Neighbors as Much as Price, Location | Few Have Bad Neighbors, but Most Have Complaints | Majority Say Neighbors Didn’t Make Effort to Meet Them | Generational Divides in Views of Neighbors | Renters vs. Homeowners on Their Neighbors 

Whether you live in the biggest city or the tiniest rural town, we’ve all got them: neighbors. For some, they may be just a few feet away or on the other side of a wall. Others may have many acres separating them from those living nearby. 

Still, no matter where you live or who your neighbors are, there’s no avoiding the reality that they can have a massive impact on your quality of life and the character of your neighborhood. 

The ways neighbors maintain their homes, interact with others, and shape the community are just as varied. Some may be a helpful friend, ready to water plants and watch pets, while others are a source of frustration, financial and emotional stress,  and even legal issues or violence on occasion. 

To find out more about how Americans feel about those living around them, Anytime Estimate surveyed 1,000 adults on their views, including 60% who own their home, 32% who rent, and another 8% in alternative living situations. 

Read on to see what Americans believe makes a good or bad neighbor, the top sources of conflict, and the way our changing housing market is impacting neighborhood relations, including through HOAs and artificial intelligence. 

Over Three Quarters of Americans Value Good Neighbors as Much as Price or Location When Buying a Home

Although there are many factors to take into account when choosing a home, there’s no denying how important neighbors are.

Americans value good neighbors so much that 82% say having them is just as important as price or location when buying a home. This ranges from an overwhelming 88% of boomers to 77% of millennials and 70% of Gen Z. 

Americans' feelings about their neighbors can have a significant impact on their overall happiness in a neighborhood, with 80% stating neighbors have some effect, and 1 in 4 (24%) claiming the impact is major. Homeowners (84%) are more likely to say their neighbors have an impact on their happiness than renters and other non-owners (75%). 

Almost half of respondents (45%) would even be open to moving if they didn’t like their neighbors, and 26% have actually considered it due to difficult neighbors. That makes it critical to answer another question: What makes a good (or bad) neighbor?

According to almost two-thirds of Americans (65%), a good neighbor is someone they can trust. This was the most common answer, followed by 51% who say someone who’s quiet.

Other popular neighbor traits include:

• Someone who maintains their home and yard (47%)
• Someone who will help when asked (e.g., bring in packages, water plants) (42%)
• Someone who keeps to themself (42%)

The least commonly selected traits among good neighbors are someone who has a lot of money (5%) or someone who looks like them (6%). 

Americans would feel most positively about having an older couple as neighbors. About 59% say they would like or love this, seven points higher than the next most popular choice, a police officer (52%).

Other well-regarded potential neighbors include a single adult (47%), a dog owner (45%), or a family with young children (42%). 

Americans Feel Most Negative About Sex Offender Neighbors, Frequent Shouting and Fighting

Conversely, Americans would, by far, feel most negatively about having a sex offender as a neighbor, with 90% saying they’d dislike or hate it. 

No other potential neighbors come anywhere close, with the next most disliked or hated option being a marijuana or cigarette smoker at a relatively low 51%. About 41% would hate or dislike a neighbor who has a lot of visitors, while over a third would be similarly peeved by one who parks on the street instead of in their driveway (34%).

Meanwhile, shouting or fighting next door would most bother Americans, with 89% saying so, regardless of whether they’ve dealt with it personally.

Three-quarters or more of Americans would also be bothered by a neighbor who:

• Lets out celebratory gunshots (83%)
• Hosts loud parties (80%)
• Has car alarms go off or honks often (79%)
• Has barking dogs (79%)
• Plays loud music (79%)
• Revs the engine of their car or motorcycle (75%)
• Sets off fireworks outside of holidays (75%)

Frequent Yelling, Barking Dogs, and Naked Neighbors Are the Biggest Dealbreakers When Buying a Home

Neighbors can make, or more frequently, break a home sale, regardless of the housing market or the house itself.

A whopping 88% of Americans would consider frequent yelling or fighting among neighbors to be a dealbreaker when buying a home. About 84% feel this way about a neighbor who lets a dog bark excessively. 

Somewhat surprisingly, more people view these disturbances as dealbreakers than a neighbor who walks around naked or inappropriately dressed (82%) 

More than three-quarters of Americans say the following behaviors are also dealbreakers:

• Letting a pet roam unattended (82%)
• A neighbor using the yard for storage or junk (81%)
• Playing loud music or hosting loud parties (81%)
• Being inappropriately flirtatious (76%)

Other significant dealbreakers include an unkempt yard or home (73%) and marijuana smoke (66%) or cigarette smoke (64%) wafting into the yard. 

Political messages are also a serious concern for many. About 57% say it would be a dealbreaker to see a neighbor display a Confederate flag, and 47% say the same about a Trump or MAGA flag. That’s notably higher than those who view Black Lives Matter signs (36%) or pride flags (33%) as dealbreakers. 

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Would Pay $10,000 or More to Avoid Bad Neighbors

How much is a lack of neighbor-related problems worth to Americans? Apparently, low five-figures. About 1 in 5 (19%) say they’d pay $10,000 or more above the price of a comparable home if they knew they wouldn’t have bad neighbors. Although it might sound like a lot of money, that’s still just about 2.5% of the median home-sale price in the second quarter of 2025. 

About 1 in 8 (12%) feel strongly enough about the issue that they’d pay at least $20,000 extra if they could ensure they’d avoid bad neighbors. 

Notably, comparable numbers of Americans would pay similar premiums on a home if they knew they’d never have to interact with their neighbors. About 19% would fork over an extra $10,000, while 13% would pay an extra $20,000. 

Only 1 in 6 Say They Have Bad Neighbors, and Most Describe Them Positively

Although no neighbor relationship is perfect, most Americans seem interested in trying to make nice with those closest to them.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) say it’s important for them to have a good relationship with their neighbors, while at the very least, 86% think it’s important to at least get along with them. 

There’s a small, but noteworthy, difference on the latter question between renters (81%) and homeowners (89%). Meanwhile, those who live in a large city or urban area were most likely to say it was extremely important to get along with their neighbors (37%), while residents of small or medium-sized cities believe this the least (23%). 

For their own part, Americans seem to think they’re pretty good neighbors, with 90% saying so. At the same time, only about 1 in 6 (16%) say they have bad neighbors.

The most common way Americans describe their neighbors is friendly (58%), and about half of Americans (45%) say they have a somewhat friendly relationship with their neighbors, saying hello and chatting occasionally. 

About 1 in 6 (17%) consider their relationship with their neighbors very friendly, including socializing regularly, and nearly 1 in 3 (30%) have social events with their neighbors, regardless of how close they truly are. However, only 28% say they interact with their neighbors multiple times per week.

The 62% with friendly relationships is more than double the 29% who have a neutral relationship, where they rarely interact. However, these types of neutral situations were much more common among Gen Zers (37%) than boomers (22%). 

Regardless of how they view their relationship, a plurality of Americans seem to view their neighbors in generally positive ways, with many saying their neighbors are:

• Friendly (58%)
• Kind (42%)
• Quiet (41%)
• Helpful (38%)
• Considerate (35%)
• Trustworthy (30%) 

This is despite the fact that just 42% say their neighbors tend to have the same political views as they do, a potentially surprising finding in an increasingly polarized world. 

1 in 4 Americans Deal With Neighbor Issues at Least Once a Week

Although 44% of Americans were lucky or relaxed enough to have had no complaints about their immediate neighbors, a 56% majority have had some sort of gripe with those living around them.

A quarter of Americans (25%) deal with issues related to their neighbors at least weekly, and 6% say their neighbors are a daily annoyance. Just 35% say they never deal with neighbor-related issues. 

Unsurprisingly, rural Americans are most likely to say they never have to deal with neighbors or their issues (45%) — 15 percentage points higher than those who live in large cities or urban areas (30%). Conversely, those who live in large cities (10%) are 2.5x more likely than suburban residents (4%) to deal with neighbor issues on a daily basis.

Renters (8%) are also twice as likely as owners (4%) to have daily neighbor issues. 

Among those who have had some sort of problem with a neighbor, the most common are:

• Noise issues (33%)
• Parking concerns (22%)
• Trash or junk concerns (22%)
• Pet issues (22%)
• Nosy or intrusive neighbors (21%)
• Rude neighbors (19%)
• Too many guests or loud parties (18%)
• Not maintained house or yard (18%)

In addition, more than 1 in 5 Americans deal with the ups and downs of sitcom-esque neighbors showing up unannounced, with 22% saying so. 

As noted, Americans are much more likely to describe their neighbors in positive terms than negative ones. However, that doesn’t mean they’re universally positive. More than 1 in 8 (13%) call their neighbors annoying, the most commonly picked negative trait. 

Other common negative descriptions include:

• Weird (11%)
• Protective/paranoid (7%)
• Creepy (6%)

Most Americans, however, are relatively satisfied in their neighborhood. Nearly three-quarters (73%) say they’d still move into their current home if they knew then what they know now about their neighbors.

On the flip side, 37% wish they didn’t have neighbors at all. 

Almost Half of Americans Say A Neighbor Has Done Something Bad to Them

Unfortunately, neighbor relationships can also go wrong, sometimes in serious ways. Overall, about half of Americans (49%) say a neighbor has done something bad to them at some point.

The most common complaints aren’t terribly surprising. Among those who say their neighbors have done something bad, 27% say their neighbors host loud or disruptive events regularly, and 26% say they let their dogs go to the bathroom in others' yards without cleaning it up.

However, a troubling 1 in 5 (20%) say their neighbors have harassed or bullied them or their family. Similar numbers say their neighbors have stolen or tampered with their property (18%), damaged their property (18%), or called the police on them or another neighbor (18%). 

Around 1 in 8 mention other troubling scenarios, such as a neighbor making racist, sexist, or discriminatory remarks (13%), physically threatening them or their family (13%), or hitting on them or a family member (12%). 

More than 1 in 4 Americans (29%) say they’ve felt judged by their neighbors, while another quarter (23%) say they’ve gotten into arguments with them. Overall, over a fifth of Americans (22%) have neighbors who have made them feel unsafe or uncomfortable. 

About the same number (21%) say they’ve caught a neighbor watching or eavesdropping on them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that aligns closely with the 1 in 5 (20%) who say they’ve put up cameras because they don’t trust their neighbors.

Nearly Half of Americans Have Had to Spend Money Dealing With Neighbor-Related Issues

Stress and wasted time are bad enough consequences of having an inconsiderate or unpleasant neighbor. For about half of homeowners, however, it gets even worse.

Since moving in, 49% of homeowners have had to spend money dealing with their neighbors or issues related to them, whether it’s for landscaping, building and maintaining fences, legal fees, repairing damage, or other issues.

About 1 in 4 homeowners (25%) have spent $1,000 or more, and 1 in 8 (12%) have had to pay $5,000 or more to deal with their neighbors. 

While those amounts are undoubtedly substantial sums to many people, bad neighbors can have an even more profound impact. More than 1 in 8 homeowners (13%) believe their neighbors or their homes would cause problems selling their own home, a hazard that could cost them tens of thousands of dollars on one of the biggest financial transactions of their lives.

With all this in mind, it may be somewhat surprising that only half of Americans (50%) say they’ve ever done something in response to a conflict with a bad neighbor. Typically, this is simply avoiding them, which 54% of those who have responded say they’ve done. 

However, 1 in 4 of this group (25%) confronted their neighbor directly about the issue, and around 1 in 6 fired back socially or legally, gossiping about them with other neighbors (17%) or calling the police on them (17%).  

Unfortunately, neighborhood disagreements sometimes get truly out of hand, as they did for the 1 in 25 who responded by physically fighting a neighbor (4%) or harassing their pets (4%).

Americans Think They're More Willing to Help Their Neighbors Than Their Neighbors Are to Help Them

In general, Americans seem to think they’re pretty willing to help their neighbors but don’t quite feel the same about the people who live around them.

Over two-thirds (68%) would bring in packages or mail for a neighbor, but only 58% feel their neighbors would do this for them.

There’s a similar ten percentage point spread between those who say they’d watch their neighbor’s home while they’re away (55%) and those who think their neighbors would watch their home (45%).

An even wider gap emerges on some other questions — particularly when it comes to caring for something or someone.

	Would You Do This For a Neighbor?	Do You Think a Neighbor Would Do This For You?	Difference
Bring a meal if someone was sick	45%	26%	19%
Water plants	53%	39%	14%
Take care of pets	38%	24%	14%

Nearly across the board, Americans believe they are more willing than their neighbors to do every favor. With this kind of broad consistency, it’s likely this result has more to do with Americans’ perceptions of their neighbors’ unwillingness, rather than any significant disinterest from their neighbors. 

Fewer Than Half of Americans Say Their Neighbors Went Out of Their Way to Meet Them

In some notable ways, Americans’ perceptions of their neighbors and neighborhood differ somewhat from the reality they deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Almost half of Americans (46%) describe their neighborhood as somewhat friendly, 10 percentage points ahead of the second most common description, mostly private (36%). About the same number of Americans say they live in close-knit communities (9%) as those who’d describe their neighborhood as disconnected (10%). 

Rural residents are most likely to say their area is very close-knit (12%), while large city dwellers most commonly say their neighborhood is disconnected (13%).

However, fewer than half of Americans (44%) say their neighbors made an intentional effort to meet them when they first moved in — with a noteworthy difference between homeowners (50%) and renters (36%). 

In an increasing number of neighborhoods, another critical dynamic for homeowners is membership in a homeowner’s association. More than 1 in 4 homeowners (28%) say their property is part of one. 

Despite their intended purpose, almost two-thirds of Americans (63%) think HOAs create more problems and conflicts than they solve. Interestingly, this includes 70% of boomers but just 59% of millennials and 52% of Gen Z.

Meanwhile, nearly three-quarters of Americans (74%) say they wouldn’t pay any more for a home that was part of an HOA. Only 1 in 8 (12%) would pay a premium of $10,000 or more for an HOA home. In fact, nearly the same amount (11%) say they would pay $20,000 or more extra for a home that’s specifically not part of an HOA.

However, those who actually are members of HOAs seem relatively satisfied with them. Two-thirds of HOA residents (67%) think HOAs are necessary to keep a community orderly and preserve property values, compared to just 36% of Americans overall. 

Those in an HOA are also evenly split on whether HOAs create more problems and conflicts than they solve: 51% agree, 12 points lower than all respondents. 

Boomers Say They’re More Neighborly – But Younger Generations Disagree

As with many other housing-related issues, there’s often a stark divide between younger and older generations in how they view and relate to their neighbors.

Boomers are the most likely to say they have a friendly relationship with their neighbors (71%), seven percentage points higher than Gen X (64%), 13 percentage points higher than millennials (58%), and 22 points higher than Gen Z (49%). Gen Z (13%) is also more than twice as likely as boomers (6%) to have a distant or hostile relationship with their neighbors. 

Boomers (75%) and Gen X (76%) are also statistically tied when it comes to the percentage of respondents who believe people are now less friendly with their neighbors than they were a decade ago. Only 60% of Gen Z feel this way, despite the fact that many of them were teenagers or younger at the time.  

Meanwhile, 63% of boomers say knowing their neighbors well makes them more likely to stay in their homes, compared to 53% of Gen Zers. 

Gen Z Sees Neighbors and Neighborhood as Judgmental, Not Welcoming

It’s a particularly fraught situation for the youngest entrants to the housing market, Gen Z, who seem to have a significantly different view of their communities than older residents. 

Roughly 40% of them say they live in a judgmental neighborhood – 11 percentage points higher than millennials (29%) and 27 percentage points above boomers (13%).  

Around a third (34%) say their neighbors aren’t open or welcoming to new residents – something they can likely speak to firsthand as newer members of the community. Other generations, who are more likely to be established in their homes, are less likely to feel the same way, with 26% of millennials, 25% of Gen X, and 23% of boomers saying this. 

Thirty-eight percent of Gen Zers would go so far as to say their neighbors discriminate against people who aren’t like them, compared to 15% of boomers. 

About 40% of Gen Z say their neighbors care more about property rights than about being good neighbors, more than double the number of boomers who believe this (18%).

Meanwhile, nearly half of Gen Z (44%) say they hide their political views from their neighbors because of fears of how they’d be treated. That’s 11 percentage points higher than millennials (33%) and more than double the number of boomers who feel this way (19%). 

Gen Z (38%) is also over 3x more likely to say they’ve avoided interacting with a neighbor because of their political views compared to boomers (11%). This figure steadily decreases with age, with 33% of millennials and 20% of Gen Xers reporting the same. 

With all this in mind, it’s unsurprising that Gen Zers are also by far the generation most likely to say they’ve lied to a neighbor to avoid socializing, with 42% of zoomers saying they've done this versus 33% of millennials and 17% of boomers. 

A Majority of Younger Americans Think It’s Normal or Common to Dislike Their Neighbors

The lack of neighborliness isn’t limited to just Gen Z, however. Millennials, who are just one generation older, are often in line with their younger counterparts. 

Millennials (53%) and Gen Z (52%) are significantly more likely to say it’s normal or common to dislike their neighbors compared to boomers (34%). Millennials (33%) and Gen Z (30%) are also most likely to wish their next-door neighbor would move away. Just 19% of boomers and 22% of Gen X feel this way.

Because that’s unlikely to happen in most cases, younger generations are taking matters into their own hands. Around 1 in 4 Gen Zers (27%) and millennials (23%) say they have gone out of their way to annoy a neighbor who they don't like. Only 8% of boomers admit to doing the same.

While older generations may have been content to simply knock on neighbors' doors to meet them when considering a home, younger Americans are more willing to bring tech into the mix.

Roughly 73% of Gen Z and 58% of millennials say, if readily available, they’d be likely to use an AI-driven tool that predicts how compatible they would be with their neighbors before moving in, using factors such as likelihood of conflict, shared ideals, privacy preferences, and more. This includes roughly 1 in 5 of each generation — 21% of Gen Z and 20% of millennials — who say they’d be very likely to use it. 

In contrast, just 25% of boomers say they’d be likely to use such a tool, including only 4% who would be very likely.

Significant Gaps Exist Between Renters and Homeowners on Familiarity, Trust With Neighbors

Homeowners and renters can differ in many significant ways, and it turns out the nature of their relationships with their neighbors is among them. 

Although 87% of Americans overall say they know the names of at least some of their neighbors, this includes nearly all homeowners (94%) but barely three-quarters of renters (77%). 

The widest gap between owners and renters is on whether they trust any of their neighbors to watch their homes while they’re away. About 78% of homeowners say they’d trust at least some of their neighbors to do this, 19 percentage points higher than renters (59%). 

Likewise, there’s 18 percentage points between the number of homeowners who’d trust a neighbor with a house key (62%) and renters who’d do the same (44%). 

There are notable differences between owners and renters on many other neighbor-related issues, too:

• Significantly more homeowners (76%) say they know their neighbors on a personal level compared to renters (60%).
• About 80% of homeowners have a neighbor they’d feel comfortable asking for a favor, while just 66% of renters feel the same way.
• There’s a 13 percentage point gap between owners and renters on whether they have a neighbor they trust, 84% to 71%, respectively. 

Broadly speaking, homeowners are more likely than renters to describe their neighbors positively. For example, 43% of owners call their neighbors helpful, compared to 30% of renters. In addition, 35% of owners consider their neighbors trustworthy, while just 24% of renters say the same. 

The reverse was also true. Renters were more likely than owners to describe their neighbors in negative terms:

• 10% of renters say their neighbors are rude, compared to 6% of homeowners.
• 15% of renters say their neighbors are loud, compared to 11% of homeowners.
• 13% of renters say their neighbors are weird, compared to 10% of homeowners.

Methodology

Anytime Estimate conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,000 American adults on Aug. 7, 2025. The survey collected respondents’ experiences, opinions, and beliefs about their neighbors and neighborhoods.

About Anytime Estimate

Stay on top of your money, around the clock. Since 2009, Anytime Estimate's straightforward calculators and expert articles have simplified mortgages, refinancing, and other real estate costs — fast. In 2021, Anytime Estimate was acquired by Clever Real Estate, a free agent-matching service that has helped consumers save more than $200 million on real estate fees. Research by Anytime Estimate's Data Center has been cited by The New York Times, CNBC, MarketWatch, NPR, Apartment Therapy, Yahoo Finance, Black Enterprise, and more.

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