What Oxford House does

Oxford House, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered at 1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 300, Silver Spring, Maryland, that operates and licenses a network of self-run, self-supporting recovery residences for individuals in recovery from substance use disorders. Founded on October 25, 1975, the organization has grown the Oxford House Model to over 3,500 individual houses spanning 47 states, housing approximately 24,000 residents at any given time. Each house is gender-specific with at least six beds, democratically self-governed by residents who elect six officers to six-month terms, and maintained as a 100% drug- and alcohol-free environment with immediate expulsion for any relapse.

The core product is the Oxford House Model itself, an evidence-based system of peer-run, democratically-governed recovery housing with standardized charter requirements, operational manuals, and a field-staff technical-assistance network. The organization issues no-cost charters to newly formed houses that meet the minimum requirements (self-run, self-supporting, drug- and alcohol-free) and maintains supporting infrastructure including oxfordvacancies.com, a live SMS-driven vacancy locator; a nine-traditions governance framework; downloadable operational forms (audit, treasurer, comptroller, meeting minutes templates); and a tiered community structure of local chapters, state associations, an elected World Council, and an alumni association.

Revenue flows through individual houses via the Equal Expense Share (EES) mechanism, in which each member pays the same weekly amount - typically $125 to $250 - covering rent, utilities, telephone, cable TV, and common expenditures. The national nonprofit entity derives revenue from donations and grants to support its small corporate staff (1-10 employees reported in firmographic data) and its mission to expand the model into additional communities. The organization's research credibility is anchored by a 35-year independent longitudinal study at DePaul University (Dr. Leonard A. Jason) and its 2011 listing on SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices; its legal protections are anchored by the 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in City of Edmonds v. Oxford House, Inc. under the Fair Housing Act.

Name

Oxford House

Legal name

Oxford House, Inc.

Website

https://oxfordhouse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Oxford House, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that charters and supports a nationwide network of over 3,500 self-run, self-supporting recovery residences across 47 states, serving approximately 24,000 individuals in recovery from substance use disorders through democratically-governed, drug- and alcohol-free shared housing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Silver Spring

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Member Equal Expense Share (EES): Each Oxford House member pays EES (Equal Expense Share) which includes the total amount of rent due for the month as well as utilities, telephone, cable TV and other common expenditures. Some houses collect EES monthly while many choose to collect weekly. Every member pays the same amount regardless of income.
2. Donations: Oxford House accepts financial donations to increase the number of recovery beds available to those who want to achieve recovery without relapse. Donations can be directed to specific Oxford Houses with a notation that funds should go to that particular house.
3. House Furnishing Donations: The organization accepts donations of household items to furnish Oxford Houses, supporting new and existing recovery homes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Oxford House operates a nationwide network of peer-run, self-supported recovery homes for individuals recovering from substance use disorders. Each Oxford House is a democratically self-governed, single-gender residence of at least six beds that is 100% drug and alcohol-free, with no professional house manager and no time limit on stay. Residents share expenses equally through Equal Expense Share (EES) payments, and Oxford House, Inc. issues charters and provides technical assistance to expand the model across the United States.

Product overview

Oxford House is a nonprofit organization that operates the Oxford House Model - a network of peer-run, self-sustaining recovery homes for individuals with substance use disorders. The organization offers a comprehensive ecosystem consisting of: (1) the core Oxford House Model, an evidence-based system of operations for recovery housing; (2) Oxfordvacancies.com, a live vacancy locator platform; (3) House Traditions, the nine guiding principles for house operations; (4) Oxford House Manuals and Resources, operational documentation and forms; and (5) the broader Oxford House Network supported by chapters, state associations, and the World Council. Houses are gender-specific with at least six beds, democratically self-governed, financially self-supporting through Equal Expense Share (EES), and maintained as 100% drug and alcohol-free environments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Oxford House Recovery Housing Shared, single-gender residences of at least six beds where individuals in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction live together in a 100% drug and alcohol-free environment, governed democratically by residents with no house manager or outside authority, no time limit on stay, and shared expenses through Equal Expense Share (EES) payments.
• Oxford Vacancies Live Locator

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% of residents maintain long-term sobriety
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011SAMHSA, under Vivek H. Murthy, MD, U.S. Surgeon General (2016), spotlighted Oxford House as 'A leading example of recovery-supportive housing' in Facing Addiction in America. Oxford House is listed on SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices.
• U.S. Supreme CourtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995In City of Edmonds v. Oxford House, Inc. (1995), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that zoning code definitions of 'family' are not maximum occupancy restrictions exempt from the Fair Housing Act, protecting the rights of Oxford Houses to operate in residential neighborhoods.
• DePaul University Center for Community ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1988DePaul University, led by Dr. Leonard A. Jason, has been conducting research on Oxford House since 1988 - making it the only recovery house system studied by independent researchers for over 35 years. The research has documented Oxford House's effectiveness in achieving long-term sobriety outcomes.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: Major U.S. addiction treatment provider operating residential programs, outpatient services, and recovery housing. Overlaps with Oxford House on the recovery housing segment, but is a broader clinical and educational institution.
• Phoenix House: One of the largest nonprofit behavioral health providers in the U.S., offering residential and outpatient substance use treatment along with recovery housing. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering recovery housing within a wider treatment portfolio, in contrast to Oxford House's pure recovery housing focus.
• Caron Treatment Centers: National nonprofit addiction treatment provider offering residential, outpatient, and recovery support services. Shares Oxford House's recovery-housing adjacency while operating a broader clinical treatment portfolio.
• Gateway Foundation: Large nonprofit substance use treatment provider operating residential and outpatient programs, including recovery housing components, across several states. Overlaps with Oxford House on the recovery housing segment but is broader in clinical scope.
• American Addiction Centers: Large for-profit chain of addiction treatment and recovery housing facilities across multiple states. Comparable on the recovery housing and substance use disorder continuum, with a much larger clinical footprint than Oxford House.

Direct peers

• Sober Living Network: Membership and advocacy organization for sober living operators, focused on sober living house standards, best practices, and resident support. Directly comparable to Oxford House in serving the same population with similar recovery housing models.
• EQUAL (Equal Homes for Alcoholics and Recovering People): Recovery housing organization modeled as an alternative to Oxford House, operating self-governed houses for individuals in recovery from substance use disorders. Closest direct peer by mission, peer-run structure, and target population.
• Beacon House (Beacon House Association of San Pedro): Long-running residential recovery program providing sober living and structured housing for men in recovery in California. Operates a single-site recovery residence model that competes with Oxford House for residents seeking sober living environments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/oxfordhousecentraloffice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oxford-house-incorporated

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oxford House