No, the Vice President does not live in the White House. The official Vice President’s residence is a separate property called Number One Observatory Circle, about two miles northwest of the White House on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory.1The White House. The Vice President’s Residence and Office The White House is the President’s home; the Vice President has had a home of their own since 1977.
Where the Vice President Actually Lives
Number One Observatory Circle is a three-story Queen Anne-style brick house completed in 1893. It was originally built as the residence for the superintendent of the Naval Observatory, then taken over by the Chief of Naval Operations in 1923.2George W. Bush White House Archives. Number One Observatory Circle – Life at the Vice President’s Residence Navy admirals used it as their home for the next five decades before it was handed over to the Vice President.
The house sits on a secured 72-acre wooded campus in northwest Washington, D.C. The Naval Observatory itself is still an active scientific facility where the Navy tracks astronomical data and maintains the official time standard for the United States. That setting gives the residence a level of seclusion that a home inside the city proper could not offer, while keeping the Vice President a short drive from the White House and the Capitol.
Why the Vice President Has a Separate Home
For the country’s first 188 years, Vice Presidents had no government-provided housing at all. Some rented apartments, some bought suburban houses, and some lived in hotels. As security demands grew through the twentieth century, protecting a Vice President in a private home became costly and complicated. Securing a single property already located on a military installation was easier and cheaper.
In 1974, Congress passed Public Law 93-346, designating the Naval Observatory house as the official residence of the Vice President once the sitting Chief of Naval Operations finished his term.3U.S. Government Publishing Office. Public Law 93-346 – Designating the Premises Occupied by the Chief of Naval Operations as the Official Residence of the Vice President Vice President Nelson Rockefeller oversaw renovations but never moved in, preferring his own homes. It took three years before any Vice President actually lived there.
Who Has Lived at Number One Observatory Circle
Walter Mondale became the first Vice President to move in, in 1977. Every Vice President since has lived there: George H.W. Bush, Dan Quayle, Al Gore, Dick Cheney, Joe Biden, Mike Pence, Kamala Harris, and the current occupant, JD Vance.1The White House. The Vice President’s Residence and Office
The home spans roughly 9,000 square feet across 33 rooms.1The White House. The Vice President’s Residence and Office The ground floor is used for official business, including a formal dining room, garden room, and reception spaces for hosting foreign dignitaries. The upper floors are private family quarters.
The Vice President Still Works at the White House
While the Vice President doesn’t sleep at the White House, the VP does work there. The Vice President keeps an office in the West Wing for day-to-day executive business, along with a set of offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door.1The White House. The Vice President’s Residence and Office So a typical day involves commuting from the Naval Observatory grounds to the West Wing, not walking down a hallway inside the White House itself.
Who Runs and Protects the Residence
Unlike the White House, which falls under the National Park Service, the Vice President’s residence is managed by the United States Navy. Public Law 93-346 directs the Secretary of the Navy to handle staffing, maintenance, repairs, improvements, and furnishing of the residence and its grounds.3U.S. Government Publishing Office. Public Law 93-346 – Designating the Premises Occupied by the Chief of Naval Operations as the Official Residence of the Vice President Navy stewards handle meals, housekeeping, and day-to-day household operations, an arrangement that made sense because the property already belonged to the Navy.
Security is the responsibility of the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division, which protects both the White House grounds and the Vice President’s residence. Officers patrol the Naval Observatory campus by vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, and foot. An Emergency Response Team sweeps the grounds, a Canine Explosive Detection Unit works around the clock, and a Counter Sniper Team covers the perimeter. The Secret Service also operates an Airspace Security Branch that monitors and controls the airspace around locations used by the President and Vice President.4United States Secret Service. Safeguarding Places