Share of Renters Rise in Each of the 50 Largest U.S. Cities
The renter rate across the U.S. rose from 31 percent to 36 percent between 2006 and 2016, with most people renting instead of owning in 29 of the 50 largest cities
- Across the U.S., 36 percent of all households are renter households, up from 31 percent in 2006. In 2000, 33 percent of all households were renter households.
- In each of the 50 largest U.S. cities, the share of renter households was higher in 2016 than in 2006, with Memphis, Tenn., reporting the greatest increase.
- The majority of households are renter households in 29 of the 50 largest U.S. cities. In 2006, 16 of the 50 largest cities were majority-renter households.
- Home values across the country rose 8 percent over the past year, making it more difficult for renters to break into the housing market.
SEATTLE, Aug. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- There were more renters in 2016i than in 2006 in each of the 50 largest U.S. cities. Memphis, Tenn., Las Vegas and Honolulu reported the greatest increase in rentership since 2006, according to a new Zillow® analysis.ii
More than a decade ago during the Great Recession, millions of homeowners were foreclosed upon and many have yet to purchase a home again. Numerous households became renters at the same time that tight mortgage lending standards and a weak labor market made it harder for young adults to become first-time homeowners.
Even as homeownership slowly climbs back today, rapidly rising home values often make it difficult for younger renters to save enough break into the housing market to begin with. In 2006, 31 percent of all U.S. households rented; today, over 36 percent of all households rent. In 2000, prior to the housing boom, about 33 percent of all households were renter households.iii
In Memphis, 56 percent of all households are renter households, up 11 percentage points since 2006. The renter rate in Las Vegas is just over 47 percent, up from 38 percent 10 years prior.
Home values across the country are rising over 8 percent annually, with some markets reporting double-digit home-value appreciation. The median home value in the San Jose, Calif. metro rose 27 percent over the past year, with 43 percent of all households renting, up about 5 percentage points since 2006.
"The share of U.S. households that rent surged in the wake of the Great Recession, as millions of families were foreclosed upon and younger adults either chose to or had no choice but to rent for longer," said Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas. "Renting remains more common years after the recession ended and after a historically long national economic expansion. Some of this shift is attributable to lifestyle choices, including young adults delaying marriage and starting families, and a strong preference for living in urban cores where renting is often more convenient and financially feasible. Some is also driven by economic necessity - quickly rising home values can make it difficult for some to enter the market to begin with - and many previously foreclosed-upon families remain unable to purchase again, even years after foreclosure. The homeownership rate is slowly rising – the most recent data show a sharp surge in young adult homeownership over the past two years – but it will likely take many years, if ever, for it to get back to its lofty pre-recession peaks."
The majority of people rent instead of own in 29 of the 50 largest U.S. cities. In 2006, only 16 of the 50 largest cities were majority renter households.
Miami, New York and Boston have the greatest share of renter households. Almost 70 percent of all households in Miami and New York, and 65 percent of all households in Boston, rent. The renter rate in Miami rose 6 percentage points over the past 10 years.
Virginia Beach, Va., Albuquerque, N.M., and Mesa, Ariz. have the smallest share of households who rent. The renter rate in Virginia Beach is 37.8 percent, and is about 40 percent in Mesa.
The median rent across the U.S. is $1,440 per month, up 1.3 percent over the past year. According to the 2017 Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report, millennials say one of the greatest barriers to homeownership is saving enough money for a down payment. Other struggles include qualifying for a loan and determining how much home they could afford.
| City |
Renter |
Renter |
Renter |
Percentage |
Zillow Rent Index (ZRI) |
YoY |
Zillow Home |
YoY ZHVI |
| USA |
32.5% |
31.1% |
36.3% |
5.2 |
$ 1,440 |
1.3% |
$ 217,300 |
8.3% |
| New York, New York |
69.8% |
65.6% |
68.0% |
2.4 |
$ 2,279 |
-1.5% |
$ 674,500 |
7.8% |
| Los Angeles, California |
61.4% |
60.0% |
64.1% |
4.1 |
$ 2,881 |
3.5% |
$ 677,400 |
8.7% |
| Chicago, Illinois |
56.2% |
50.7% |
56.3% |
5.6 |
$ 1,601 |
-2.6% |
$ 227,100 |
3.0% |
| Houston, Texas |
54.2% |
53.5% |
56.9% |
3.3 |
$ 1,429 |
1.6% |
$ 178,300 |
6.3% |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
40.7% |
41.8% |
47.9% |
6.1 |
$ 1,214 |
0.7% |
$ 149,600 |
11.7% |
| Phoenix, Arizona |
39.3% |
39.4% |
47.0% |
7.5 |
$ 1,294 |
1.8% |
$ 231,500 |
9.6% |
| Las Vegas, Nevada |
40.9% |
38.2% |
47.3% |
9.0 |
$ 1,293 |
3.9% |
$ 260,100 |
15.9% |
| San Antonio, Texas |
41.9% |
39.2% |
46.4% |
7.2 |
$ 1,272 |
1.4% |
$ 167,600 |
8.0% |
| San Diego, California |
50.5% |
49.5% |
54.3% |
4.8 |
$ 2,569 |
1.8% |
$ 622,300 |
7.1% |
| Dallas, Texas |
56.8% |
53.3% |
59.2% |
5.9 |
$ 1,451 |
2.9% |
$ 192,300 |
14.0% |
| San Jose, California |
38.2% |
38.3% |
43.1% |
4.8 |
$ 3,440 |
3.5% |
$ 1,106,600 |
24.4% |
| Jacksonville, Florida |
36.8% |
37.0% |
43.4% |
6.4 |
$ 1,193 |
3.1% |
$ 165,300 |
10.1% |
| San Francisco, California |
65.0% |
60.7% |
62.1% |
1.4 |
$ 4,219 |
-1.4% |
$ 1,358,500 |
9.8% |
| Indianapolis, Indiana |
41.3% |
40.6% |
47.6% |
7.0 |
$ 1,099 |
2.6% |
$ 129,700 |
9.9% |
| Austin, Texas |
55.1% |
52.7% |
55.1% |
2.4 |
$ 1,750 |
-2.0% |
$ 348,800 |
7.8% |
| Fort Worth, Texas |
44.1% |
39.5% |
42.9% |
3.4 |
$ 1,435 |
3.5% |
$ 184,000 |
11.2% |
| Columbus, Ohio |
50.9% |
49.5% |
56.0% |
6.5 |
$ 1,184 |
4.9% |
$ 146,100 |
9.2% |
| Memphis, Tennessee |
44.1% |
45.1% |
56.1% |
11.0 |
$ 835 |
-0.6% |
$ 82,800 |
8.5% |
| Charlotte, North Carolina |
42.5% |
39.6% |
47.8% |
8.2 |
$ 1,351 |
3.1% |
$ 212,800 |
11.9% |
| El Paso, Texas |
38.6% |
38.7% |
42.1% |
3.4 |
$ 985 |
0.0% |
$ 123,900 |
3.8% |
| Boston, Massachusetts |
67.8% |
61.4% |
65.0% |
3.6 |
$ 2,629 |
1.8% |
$ 588,200 |
7.5% |
| Seattle, Washington |
51.6% |
48.1% |
53.9% |
5.8 |
$ 2,486 |
-1.6% |
$ 764,200 |
11.3% |
| Baltimore, Maryland |
49.7% |
49.3% |
54.3% |
4.9 |
$ 1,278 |
-1.2% |
$ 117,300 |
34.7% |
| Denver, Colorado |
47.5% |
44.4% |
50.0% |
5.6 |
$ 2,060 |
3.8% |
$ 414,700 |
7.3% |
| Washington, District of Columbia |
59.2% |
54.2% |
60.8% |
6.5 |
$ 2,539 |
-3.6% |
$ 568,600 |
5.5% |
| Nashville, Tennessee |
22.1% |
40.3% |
47.0% |
6.7 |
$ 1,548 |
0.2% |
$ 255,600 |
10.7% |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
54.7% |
52.1% |
59.2% |
7.0 |
$ 1,038 |
3.6% |
$ 113,900 |
10.7% |
| Tucson, Arizona |
46.5% |
45.1% |
49.5% |
4.4 |
$ 1,140 |
3.6% |
$ 180,900 |
8.6% |
| Portland, Oregon |
44.2% |
42.9% |
48.0% |
5.1 |
$ 1,848 |
-2.4% |
$ 425,500 |
1.1% |
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
40.5% |
38.0% |
40.8% |
2.9 |
$ 1,048 |
-1.7% |
$ 126,000 |
1.5% |
| Omaha, Nebraska |
40.4% |
41.0% |
43.4% |
2.4 |
$ 1,298 |
-1.1% |
$ 167,400 |
8.0% |
| Albuquerque, New Mexico |
39.6% |
38.7% |
39.6% |
0.9 |
$ 1,203 |
0.7% |
$ 192,600 |
5.7% |
| Fresno, California |
49.3% |
50.2% |
53.5% |
3.3 |
$ 1,301 |
4.8% |
$ 230,600 |
7.6% |
| Sacramento, California |
49.9% |
48.0% |
52.4% |
4.5 |
$ 1,625 |
5.0% |
$ 317,100 |
7.8% |
| Mesa, Arizona |
33.5% |
32.2% |
40.7% |
8.5 |
$ 1,339 |
3.7% |
$ 238,600 |
7.9% |
| Long Beach, California |
58.9% |
56.6% |
62.3% |
5.7 |
$ 2,445 |
1.3% |
$ 586,000 |
6.5% |
| Kansas City, Missouri |
42.3% |
40.6% |
47.0% |
6.4 |
$ 1,088 |
4.9% |
$ 139,100 |
11.5% |
| Virginia Beach, Virginia |
34.4% |
30.4% |
37.8% |
7.4 |
$ 1,544 |
0.5% |
$ 260,000 |
1.6% |
| Colorado Springs, Colorado |
39.2% |
35.6% |
42.5% |
6.9 |
$ 1,511 |
4.9% |
$ 276,200 |
10.3% |
| Atlanta, Georgia |
56.3% |
50.4% |
58.7% |
8.3 |
$ 1,538 |
2.8% |
$ 241,200 |
14.1% |
| Miami, Florida |
65.1% |
63.9% |
69.9% |
6.1 |
$ 2,012 |
-1.0% |
$ 329,900 |
4.5% |
| Oakland, California |
58.6% |
56.3% |
61.7% |
5.4 |
$ 2,941 |
1.5% |
$ 750,800 |
9.2% |
| Tulsa, Oklahoma |
44.4% |
45.5% |
50.7% |
5.3 |
$ 936 |
-2.2% |
$ 119,400 |
5.9% |
| Cleveland, Ohio |
51.5% |
50.5% |
58.2% |
7.7 |
$ 844 |
0.6% |
$ 53,400 |
21.1% |
| Honolulu, Hawaii |
53.1% |
49.2% |
58.3% |
9.0 |
$ 2,296 |
-3.8% |
$ 675,000 |
3.7% |
| Minneapolis, Minnesota |
n/a |
45.9% |
53.3% |
7.4 |
$ 1,635 |
3.2% |
$ 259,200 |
8.4% |
| Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
47.6% |
47.2% |
53.2% |
6.0 |
$ 1,302 |
-3.1% |
$ 164,700 |
9.9% |
| New Orleans, Louisiana |
53.5% |
49.3% |
53.7% |
4.4 |
$ 1,340 |
-6.2% |
$ 186,000 |
2.5% |
| Arlington, Texas |
45.3% |
41.9% |
44.5% |
2.6 |
$ 1,498 |
2.8% |
$ 194,800 |
10.3% |
| Raleigh, North Carolina |
48.4% |
46.5% |
50.9% |
4.4 |
$ 1,410 |
0.6% |
$ 262,200 |
5.7% |
Zillow
Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with great real estate professionals. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow Group's Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.
Zillow is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.
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i The latest year for which full data is available
ii Zillow analyzed 2006 and 2016 data from the American Community Survey.
iii The current national rentership rate is roughly equivalent to what it was in 2000, just prior to the early stages of the housing boom.
SOURCE Zillow
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