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HOA fees in a master-planned community can range from modest annual dues to several hundred dollars a month, but the HOA line alone may not show the full cost. Buyers should add every mandatory layer—master and village associations, condo or townhome dues, and any district assessment on the property-tax bill—then separate optional club memberships from required charges. The U.S. Census Bureau’s latest national baseline is a $135 median monthly condo or HOA fee in 2024, not a master-planned-community price.
Why is there no single average for a master-planned community?
A master-planned community is a large development organized around shared places and services: for example, private streets, landscaping, parks, trails, pools, a clubhouse, or gated entrances. Those costs may be managed by an HOA, a public or special-purpose district, a township, a city, or several of them at once. The fee a buyer sees in a listing can therefore be only one part of the cost.
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The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 fee data provide a useful national reference: the median monthly condo or HOA fee was $135, and about 21.6 million of 86.6 million owner-occupied households paid a required fee. But Census does not isolate master-planned communities as a separate category. Treating that $135 as the expected price of a master plan would be misleading.
Other national figures answer different questions. The Foundation for Community Association Research (FCAR) calculates a 2024 unweighted average of $244.46 from the Census fee measure; the average is higher than the median because high fees pull it upward. FCAR says the Census’s 2024 measure expanded to include HOA fees as well as condo fees, bringing many lower-cost single-family HOA homes into the data. Separately, FCAR estimates $124.2 billion in assessments across 29.6 million association housing units in 2025. Dividing those figures implies about $350 per unit per month, but it is an arithmetic average across association housing, not a published master-planned-community rate.
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Product and sample matter, too. Census combines condo and HOA fees across owner households; condo costs often include building-wide services, structural maintenance, and insurance that detached-home dues do not. A 2026 report on condo sales, for example, gives a $464 median monthly HOA fee for its sample. That is not comparable to a median across all fee-paying owner households. For buyers, the right figure is the current cost for the particular home and every mandatory layer attached to it.
What does the HOA fee pay for?
Assessments generally fund the shared property and services assigned to an association. FCAR lists professional management, utilities, security, insurance, common-area maintenance, landscaping, capital projects, and amenities such as pools and clubhouses among typical obligations. The exact mix depends on the governing documents, budget, and which entity operates each feature.
For a detached house, dues may support shared landscaping, private roads or trails, amenity operations, common-property insurance, management, and reserves. They generally do not replace the owner’s roof, exterior paint, or homeowners policy. A townhome association may also maintain roofs or other exterior components; a condo association may be responsible for much more of the building, including shared hallways, elevators, and structural systems. That difference helps explain why condo dues can be substantially higher than single-family HOA dues.
Amenities also have different operating demands. A neighborhood park and walking paths are not the same budget commitment as a pool, staffed gate, fitness center, golf course, or extensive clubhouse. There is no reliable national formula saying a pool adds a fixed amount to every home’s dues. FCAR’s 2026 comparison of nine established planned communities illustrates the range of facilities: Columbia, Maryland, reports 23 outdoor pools, five indoor pools, 114 miles of pathways, and 3,600 acres of open space; Lakewood Ranch reports more than 40 outdoor pools and more than 150 miles of pathways; The Villages reports 121 outdoor pools and more than 50 golf courses. The facilities are not necessarily funded or available to every resident in the same way.
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For scale—not as a master-plan tariff—a vendor’s 2026 study of 2,412 self-managed associations reports average annual per-unit spending of $1,840 on landscaping, $1,240 on insurance, and $980 on pool and amenity maintenance. The sample covers self-managed communities and is not a census of large planned developments. Its figures show why service mix matters, not what any one amenity should cost in your community. The report also says only 31% of surveyed communities held reserves at the 70% funding level it identifies as recommended by the Community Associations Institute.
How do master fees, village dues, and district charges stack?
Start by identifying every entity that can charge the property. A master association may pay for community-wide parks and events, while a village or neighborhood association maintains local facilities. A community development district (CDD) or similar public district may finance infrastructure through assessments shown on the property-tax bill. A voluntary club can be a separate expense again.
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Florida makes the stacking easy to see. A 2026 Orlando database reports average annual HOA dues of $1,950 for the master-planned communities in its set, plus an average $2,800 annual CDD bond payment where a CDD applies. Its examples include Hamlin at $1,395 HOA and $2,200 CDD per year, and Laureate Park at Lake Nona at $1,895 HOA and $2,400 CDD. Some communities in the database have no listed CDD, while others have higher dues or separate village charges. The figures are estimates for typical lots, not a fee schedule; confirm the actual home’s charges.
In St. Johns County, Florida, a January 2026 guide lists Nocatee with a $150–$300 annual HOA charge but a $1,900–$3,800 annual CDD charge. Beachwalk is listed at $150 HOA and $2,200–$4,200 CDD annually. By contrast, Julington Creek Plantation is listed with no CDD because its bonds are paid off and a $580 annual HOA fee. Sorting homes by HOA alone could make the first two look cheaper than the third while overlooking the larger tax-bill assessment.
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Other governance models complicate comparisons. In the Columbia Association’s 2026 comparison of nine planned communities, Columbia residents pay an average $1,277 a year to the association, with possible nested subdivision dues of $0–$100 a month. Reston’s flat 2026 fee is $890 a year; additional cluster dues can put a townhome’s combined annual association charges at an estimated $2,090–$5,690. Montgomery Village lists a $22.64 monthly base charge plus a $47.02 monthly designated-user recreation fee for residents who use its facilities.
Lakewood Ranch residents may owe CDD fees of $1,000–$3,000 or more per year, depending on village, in addition to village HOA dues. Irvine is a planned city, and its peer budget shows no association assessment income; that does not mean households have no HOA charges. A separate listing analysis for October 2025–October 2026 reports a $240 monthly median single-family HOA fee there. In The Woodlands, the township’s 2026 operating budget is $180.4 million, but assessment income is $19.1 million—about 11% of the total—because much of its funding is governmental revenue. A low or zero HOA-budget line does not prove that the wider community has no public costs.
What do 2026 fees look like in different regions?
Local figures help set expectations, but they come from different community samples and should not be treated as a national survey. The following are named examples or publisher-compiled planning ranges, not quotes for a specific address. Prices and plans checked November 2026.
| Location or community type | Published 2026 example | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Orlando master-planned communities | Most in one database: $600–$3,500 a year in HOA dues; average CDD bond payment where applicable: $2,800 a year | Some luxury or gated examples reach $4,500–$15,000-plus in HOA dues. CDD and village amounts vary. |
| Summerlin, Nevada | Master dues listed at $69–$76 a month, depending on area | Village dues can put combined charges for standard villages at $120–$425 a month; the master portion alone does not represent the whole bill. |
| Forsyth County, Georgia | Basic subdivisions: about $42–$67 a month; swim-and-tennis: about $67–$125 | Luxury or gated communities are listed around $167–$292 a month; maintenance-free or 55-plus homes may be $200 a month or more. |
| Active-adult communities | A specialist publisher’s planning range is $150–$350 a month for standard amenities and $350–$700-plus for resort, golf, coastal, or heavily amenitized neighborhoods | Its cited $230–$280 national average is that publisher’s synthesis, not a Census or FCAR statistic. State and community ranges vary. |
Summerlin’s 2026 master-fee examples are reported by a Las Vegas brokerage guide, which attributes the increase to the Las Vegas Review-Journal; the underlying notice was not available among the cited sources. The guide says the Summerlin Council portion is $37 a month and supports parks, pools, events, and programming. Its combined village range includes additional layers, so do not add the master amount a second time if a quoted total already includes it.
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For active-adult buyers, the specialist publisher’s state planning bands show how amenity level and location can move the range: Florida is listed at $200–$380 a month for basic communities and $380–$750 for resort-style ones; Arizona at $150–$300 and $280–$550; Texas at $120–$250 and $250–$480. These are planning ranges, not official averages. At the high-amenity end, The Villages is an especially large example: the Columbia comparison describes about 70,000 households, 121 outdoor pools, and more than 50 golf courses, alongside a CDD model.
Are clubs and golf included in mandatory dues?
Not necessarily. Mandatory association assessments and optional private-club membership are different expenses. Orlando’s community database distinguishes club or golf access from HOA dues at examples such as Isleworth, Keene’s Pointe, and Heathrow. A buyer should not infer that paying the HOA grants access to every facility, or include a voluntary initiation fee when comparing mandatory assessments.
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The Columbia comparison describes Cotino, then under development, as having a standard HOA plus an optional Artisan Club with a $20,000 initiation fee and $11,000–$19,000 in annual dues. That is an example of a separate, high-cost club layer, not a typical HOA rate. On a smaller scale, Montgomery Village’s designated-user recreation charge illustrates that a community may separate a base assessment from access to particular facilities.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How can you find the real cost for a specific home?
Use the current community documents and tax bill, not just the listing’s HOA field. These steps help make homes comparable:
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- List every required charge. Ask whether there is a master association, a village or neighborhood HOA, a condo or townhome association, and a CDD or similar district assessment. Confirm whether quoted amounts are monthly or annual and whether one total already includes another layer.
- Identify who funds each service. Find out whether amenities and infrastructure are paid through HOA assessments, district charges, township or city revenue, or a separate club. Compare the service being funded—not just the label on the line item.
- Check the current assessment schedule and budget. Request the current budget and assessment schedule, plus the resale certificate or estoppel letter issued for the sale. Ask for the reserve study or reserve schedule, and check whether a special assessment has been approved or is under consideration. No national source in the available data establishes how frequently master-planned communities levy special assessments, so the individual association’s records matter.
- Read the property-tax bill for district charges. Look for non-ad valorem or CDD lines as well as ordinary property taxes. A district assessment may be absent from an HOA listing field, and its amount can depend on the specific property or district.
- Confirm what the home itself remains responsible for. Ask who maintains the roof, exterior, private utilities, and common structures; what insurance the association carries; and what the owner must insure or pay separately. Also account for property taxes, household utilities, trash, and any required cable or bulk-internet package.
- Ask about the next budget year and bond status. Dues and district charges can change when a board adopts a new budget, insurance costs reset, reserves prove inadequate, or a district refinances or pays off bonds. A current fee is not a promise that the same amount will apply next year.
Why do fees change, and what can a buyer infer?
Association budgets have operating costs as well as long-term obligations. FCAR estimates that associations contributed $31.1 billion to reserves in 2025; reserves help pay for repairs and replacement of shared property such as roads, roofs, pools, and elevators. A low current assessment can be attractive, but the budget and reserve position help show whether it is funding future work or deferring it.
Fee movement differs by community and year. FCAR’s national assessment total rose from $120.9 billion in 2024 to $124.2 billion in 2025. A vendor survey of self-managed associations reported assessments up 3.6% year over year for 2025, while one St. Johns County guide describes 3%–5% annual increases as common in its market. These are different measures and local contexts, not a forecast for a particular home. Insurance resets, major projects, reserve needs, and district bond schedules can produce changes outside a simple annual rule of thumb.
Construction and housing patterns help explain why these fees affect many buyers. Census data tabulated by Condo Connection show 538,000 of 678,000 new single-family homes sold in 2025 were in an HOA—about 79%. FCAR’s 2025 review gives a nearby figure of 81% of homes sold in an association and 66% of homes completed. The sources’ measures differ, but both indicate that association obligations are common in new housing. For a buyer, the useful comparison is not whether a fee seems high against a national median; it is whether the total mandatory bill is clear, sustainable, and proportionate to the services and property obligations it funds.
The Census Bureau also reports that households with a mortgage paid a median monthly fee of $120 in 2024, compared with $184 for households without a mortgage. That national difference does not predict what a particular buyer will pay; Census suggests it may reflect differences such as downsizing or moving to communities with more amenities. It is another reason not to use a single average as an individual quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can two sources give different HOA averages for the same year?
They may measure different things: a median versus an average, condo sales versus all owner households, or only homes with fees versus a broader housing sample. Always check the population, housing type, and statistic before treating two figures as comparable.
Are HOA dues usually based on a home’s value?
Not always. Assessment formulas depend on an association’s governing documents; the Columbia example uses a rate tied to a portion of state-assessed property value, while Reston uses a flat annual fee. Ask for the schedule that applies to the specific property.
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Yes. In Columbia’s published 2026 comparison, average annual payments are $1,277 for residents and $16,626 for businesses. Community assessment schedules may distinguish property types or uses, so a neighborhood-wide average may not describe a particular home.
