Nearly Half Of America's Largest Cities Are Home To More Renters Than Homeowners

More than 40% of the 100 largest cities in America now hold more renters than homeowners, according to Robb Report.

While rent has increased an average 2.7% since last year, housing prices in major markets have skyrocketed so much that in many areas, especially those with a heavy tech focus like Seattle and San Francisco, purchasing homes is not an option for the majority of the population.

The most recent study conducted by RENTCafé and based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, compared numbers in key markets over a 10-year period between 2006 and 2016. While only 20 of those cities were home to a larger percentage of renters in 2006, that number rose to 42 within the decade. Among the cities added to the list are Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; Minneapolis; Chicago; Austin, Texas; and Anaheim, California.

The cities with the most renters overall were Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey, Miami, New York and Boston. In each case, renters accounted for a minimum of two-thirds of the population.

Robb Report attributes the jump in American renters in part to the financial crisis, a trend that had started to level off in 2016.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's National Newsletters
Related Stories

Bottoms Wins Georgia Governor's Race With Pledge To Boost Affordable Housing

Democrats Win Congress As America's Data Center Backlash Hits The Ballot Box

U.S. Hotel RevPAR Surges 7% In Q3, But Expect Easing From Here

Stock Sell-Off, Bond Market Jitters Signal Financing Trouble For AI Data Centers

Suburban D.C. County Weighs Microhousing As Affordability Salve

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Rewrite Underwriting Standards For NYC's Rent Freeze

Starwood Launches Residential Land JV Targeting $1B In Annual Originations

RealPage Antitrust Case Ends With Nearly $360M In Settlements For Renters

ZOM Living Entity Files For Bankruptcy To Fund Fight To Overturn $323M Judgment

How Colliers Engineering Helped A Struggling Dam Move To The Head Of The Class

Real Estate's Bottom Rung Is Getting Harder To Reach — And Now It Wants AI Skills

OpenAI Plans Data Center Rebrand To Make Projects Palatable To Voters