--- title: "D.R. Horton vs Meritage Homes: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is D.R. Horton or Meritage Homes more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Home builders set in the United States. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/dr-horton-vs-meritage-homes" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # D.R. Horton vs Meritage Homes: Which is searched more in the United States? Is D.R. Horton or Meritage Homes more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Home builders set in the United States. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: D.R. Horton and Meritage Homes - **Competitive set**: Home builders - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **D.R. Horton Share of Search**: 20% - **Meritage Homes Share of Search**: 4.9% ## Is D.R. Horton or Meritage Homes more popular in search? - In September 2026, D.R. Horton had more branded searches than Meritage Homes among home builders in the United States. D.R. Horton had about 110,000 branded searches, while Meritage Homes had 27,100. D.R. Horton made up 20% of all home builder searches we track, and Meritage Homes accounted for 4.9%. - D.R. Horton was ahead of Meritage Homes in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, D.R. Horton’s share of searches among home builders in the United States moved from 21.1% to 20%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 135K to 110K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Meritage Homes’ share of searches among home builders in the United States moved from 5.2% to 4.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 33.1K to 27.1K. ## Top home builders in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Meritage Homes was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. D.R. Horton was mentioned in one out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Meritage Homes was listed before D.R. Horton in every answer that named either. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Taylor Morrison | 1st | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Toll Brothers | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Pulte Homes | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Meritage Homes | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Lennar | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Ryan Homes | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | KB Home | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | D.R. Horton | 8th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about home builders - Asked ChatGPT "Which home builder should I buy a new construction home from in the US?": 1. Taylor Morrison, 2. Toll Brothers, 3. Pulte Homes, 4. Lennar, 5. KB Home - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best home builders in the US?": 1. Taylor Morrison, 2. Toll Brothers, 3. Meritage Homes, 4. Pulte Homes, 5. Ryan Homes, 6. D.R. Horton - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best quality national home builder in the US?": 1. Taylor Morrison, 2. Toll Brothers, 3. Meritage Homes - Searched Google, AI Overview "new homes": named none of the brands we track - Searched Google, AI Overview "new construction homes": named none of the brands we track Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 22, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States home builders in September 2026? - In September 2026, D.R. Horton lost share of searches among home builders in the United States, from 23.8% to 20%. - In September 2026, Meritage Homes lost share of searches among home builders in the United States, from 5.8% to 4.9%. ## Month by month | Month | D.R. Horton estimated searches | D.R. Horton Share of Search | D.R. Horton rank | Meritage Homes estimated searches | Meritage Homes Share of Search | Meritage Homes rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 135K | 21.1% | 2 | 33.1K | 5.2% | 7 | | Nov 2025 | 135K | 22% | 2 | 33.1K | 5.4% | 7 | | Dec 2025 | 135K | 23.5% | 2 | 33.1K | 5.8% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 165K | 22.4% | 2 | 33.1K | 4.5% | 8 | | Feb 2026 | 135K | 21.1% | 2 | 33.1K | 5.2% | 7 | | Mar 2026 | 165K | 24.1% | 2 | 40.5K | 5.9% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 135K | 20.9% | 2 | 33.1K | 5.1% | 8 | | May 2026 | 135K | 21.6% | 2 | 33.1K | 5.3% | 8 | | Jun 2026 | 135K | 19.4% | 2 | 27.1K | 3.9% | 8 | | Jul 2026 | 135K | 22.4% | 2 | 27.1K | 4.5% | 8 | | Aug 2026 | 135K | 23.8% | 2 | 33.1K | 5.8% | 7 | | Sep 2026 | 110K | 20% | 2 | 27.1K | 4.9% | 8 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using D.R. Horton’s and Meritage Homes’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **D.R. Horton**: Measured on the search terms “d.r. horton” and “dr horton”, summed into one figure. - **Meritage Homes**: Measured on the search term “meritage homes”. - [D.R. Horton profile](/demand/us/brands/dr-horton) - [Meritage Homes profile](/demand/us/brands/meritage-homes) - [All home builders in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-home-builders): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is D.R. Horton or Meritage Homes more popular in search? In September 2026, D.R. Horton had more branded searches than Meritage Homes among home builders in the United States. D.R. Horton had about 110,000 branded searches, while Meritage Homes had 27,100. D.R. Horton made up 20% of all home builder searches we track, and Meritage Homes accounted for 4.9%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "D.R. Horton vs Meritage Homes: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/dr-horton-vs-meritage-homes This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/dr-horton-vs-meritage-homes. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.