Owning a home in the suburbs was once a hallmark of the American dream, but one of Philadelphia’s most iconic bedroom communities is now dominated by renters.
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King of Prussia is among a growing number of suburbs across greater Philadelphia and the nation where renters now outnumber homeowners, a new report found.
The share of tenants in the city grew from 41% to 52% between 2018 and 2023, according to the most recent Census Bureau data analyzed by Point2Homes.
Analysts found that the census-designated place in Upper Merion Township added a net 2,416 renter households over that period.
New rental complexes built in that time frame include the 313-unit Park Square at 751 Vandenburg Road and the 248-unit Skye 750 at 750 Moore Road.
King of Prussia is one of 15 suburbs that flipped from a majority of households being owners to renters over that period, with most of the others on the East Coast. That list also included four New Jersey locales: North Arlington, East Franklin, Bound Brook and Secaucus.
Other renter-heavy communities in the Philadelphia metro area include Lindenwold, Echelon, West Chester, Coatesville, Norristown and Chester, where tenants occupy between 59% and 67% of homes.
“High-density coastal cities are starting to move past city borders in their attempt to offer bigger and better rental housing opportunities,” according to the report.
The housing affordability crisis has led many would-be homebuyers across the country to continue renting.
Prepandemic, it was $400 cheaper monthly to own a single-family home. But with a 10% down payment, it is now typically $100 more expensive per month, Zillow Senior Economist Orphe Divounguy said last month.
Increased home prices have contributed to an increase in the median age for U.S. renters from 36 to 42 between 2000 and 2025, he said.
“Renters are getting older. Renters are starting families,” Divounguy said. “They're doing that [while] renting, as opposed to buying their first home. Of course, that's a symptom of the housing affordability challenges that we're facing.”
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