Renter Nation: There Are More Renters Than Buyers Now in Some of the Biggest Cities

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The recession of the past decade put the American dream of homeownership on hold.

Renters became the majority over homeowners in 22 of the largest U.S. cities from 2006 to 2016, according to a recent RENTCafé report. That brought the total of cities with more residents leasing their homes instead of owning them up to 42 during that decade. The shift is one of the primary after-effects from the housing bust a decade ago, which precipitated the financial crisis and left scores of folks out of work or underemployed.

The apartment listings website analyzed U.S. Census data for its report.

“In the late 2000s when the crisis hit, due to the huge wave of foreclosures, many people were forced into renting,” says Balazs Szekely, a writer for RENTCafé. “That’s the main reason for this huge paradigm shift.”

The poor economy with so many folks out of work, worried about losing their jobs, underemployed, or earning stagnant wages also made it hard—or downright impossible—for many aspiring homeowners to enter the market. Some of those who had the means to buy, particularly millennials, chose to rent instead.

Toledo, OH, topped the list of the 22 cities that went from majority homeowners to majority renters from 2006 to 2016. It saw a 31.3% rise in the number of renters during that time. Toledo was followed by Memphis, TN, with 27%; Tampa, FL, with 26.8%; Hialeah, FL, with 26.5%; Stockton, CA, with 26.2%; Honolulu, with 25.7%; Anaheim, CA, with 25.1%; Baton Rouge, LA, with 22.4%; Santa Ana, CA, with 17.5%; and Columbus, OH, with 17.5%.

Meanwhile, Newark, NJ; Jersey City, NJ; Miami; New York City; and Boston had the highest overall percentages of renters. However, they’ve been renter cities for quite some time—not just during the financial crisis.

That’s because these cities tend to have plenty of jobs and attract folks from all over the world—and can be prohibitively expensive to buy in. New residents with money to burn may not want to become homeowners as they might not stay over the long term. (The two New Jersey cities topping the list are just outside of New York City, so many residents commute into the Big Apple for work.)

Still, many of these cities may not remain renter-dominated for long. Since 2015, the scales have started tipping back toward folks owning their abodes once more, says Szekely.

“Homeownership is gaining more popularity again,” says Szekely. “The economy is simply recovering. … People started to have enough money for a down payment, and people started to think about buying a house again because they could afford it at last.”

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