Family renters comprise 44.3% of all renter households nationally
Apartment Trends Rental Market Split by Cost, Geography—Not Choice
The U.S. rental market is being shaped by cost, geography, and unequal access rather than individual preference, according to a new report from Realtor.com.
Realtor.com analyzed 2024 American Community Survey data across the 100 largest metro areas and found that the rental market has split into three distinct but overlapping groups: young renters being priced out of the markets they once defined; families, disproportionately minority households, finding homeownership out of reach; and long-term renters largely locked into place, with many unable to afford where they already live.
“We often hear that today’s renters are choosing to rent because they don’t want to be homeowners or are choosing to be ‘forever renters,’ but in order to understand what’s holding renters back, we need to know who they are, where they are, and why they’re renting,” said Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale. “America’s rental landscape is being shaped by cost and geography in ways that limit flexibility for almost every type of tenant—whether it’s young professionals moving inland for breathing room or families in high-cost markets stuck behind an affordability wall.”
In the top 10 young renter markets, an average of 52.6% of renters can afford a fair market rent compared with 32% in Miami and 33.6% in Los Angeles. In addition, the average unemployment rate in these 10 markets was 3.6% compared with 4.1% nationwide.
Representing the largest share of the market, family renters comprise 44.3% of all renter households nationally. This typical family of three household is headed by a 42-year-old adult in a two-bedroom unit earning $68,000 annually.
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The highest family renter concentrations are found in majority-minority markets across California, Florida, Hawaii, and Texas, led by Stockton and Riverside, California, as well as McAllen, Texas. According to Realtor.com, this concentration reflects two forces working in the same direction: Minority groups tend to have higher family formation rates, and they also face a double barrier in homeownership with high home prices and a disproportionate homeownership gap. The markets where family renters are concentrated most heavily also are among the most burdened and crowded in the nation.
Long-term renters, those in the same unit for five or more years, are increasingly being seen in the nation’s most expensive gateway cities. Decades of rent stabilization in metros like New York and Los Angeles have kept millions of renters in below-market units that they can’t afford to leave.
This “lock-in” effect also extends to overflow markets. Renters priced out of Boston have moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and Worcester, Massachusetts. However, rising rents in these secondary cities may find them stuck again.
According to Realtor.com, on average, 39.2% of renter households in these top 10 long-term renter metros would face severe affordability constraints if they were forced to move to a new apartment at fair market rent.
“When you look beneath the national averages, you see a market that is failing to provide mobility,” said Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu. “The lack of new, affordable inventory means that for many, the American dream of choosing where you live has been replaced by the necessity of staying exactly where you are.”
Source: Multifamily Executive
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