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In January 2018, the national apartment search website RentCafé released a study on the make-up of homeowners and renters in major U.S. cities.
Analyzing U.S. Census Bureau data, RentCafé found that renters now comprise the majority of households in 42 of the 100 largest U.S. cities. For comparison, ten years ago renters held the majority in only 20 of the top 100 cities. That means 22 U.S. cities changed from a homeowner to renter majority in the past 10 years.
Here are two other key takeaways from the study:
- Plano, Texas saw a 40% increase in renters relative to homeowners, placing it second only to Gilbert, Arizona.
- With the exception of three cities (including Irving, Texas), the percentage of renters relative to homeowners increased in all U.S. cities included in the study.
Here’s how all of the Texas cities ranked by percentage increase of renters vs. homeowners:
- Plano — #2 (40% increase)
- Garland — #22 (24.7% increase)
- San Antonio — #30 (19.7% increase)
- Lubbock — #41 (15.7% increase)
- Fort Worth — #48 (14.8% increase)
- Dallas — #78 (9.3% increase)
- Arlington — #81 (8.8% increase)
- El Paso — tied #87 (6.6% increase)
- Houston – tied #87 (6.6% increase)
- Austin — #90 (5.9% increase)
- Laredo– #96 (1.9% increase)
- Irving — #99 (3.6% decrease)
Does this mean homeownership has lost its appeal?
According to RentCafé, no. While the statistics seem alarming, RentCafé argues that the increase in renters over the past 10 years is still due primarily to the economic crisis of 2008, rather than a shift in attitudes about homeownership.
As evidence, RentCafé stresses that while the renter population grew faster than the owner population from 2007 to 2010, the gap started to close again after 2010. By 2016, the number of homeowners actually increased by 0.9% while renters decreased by 0.1%, marking the first time since 2006 that the number of homeowners increased rather than decreased.
In fact, the 2016 homeowner vs. renter percentages mirrored those pre-recession. According to RentCafé, this indicates that while the economic crisis had a significant impact, it takes more than a recession to change Americans’ attitudes about homeownership.
Click here to read the full study by RentCafé.
On the House blog posts are meant to provide general information on various housing-related issues, research and programs. We are not liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the information provided by blog sources. Furthermore, this blog is not legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney.
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