Renter Households Reach 50-Year High

The Pew Research Center’s offices in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON, DC—The percentage as well as number of US households led by renters is at the highest level in more than 50 years, the Pew Research Center reported this week. The research organization’s analysis of Census Bureau housing data found that growth in the percentage of renters extends across a variety of demographic factors, including age, education level and ethnicity.

Over a 10-year span from 2006 to 2016, the number of US households grew by a net 7.6 million, according to the Pew report. However, the number of owner households dropped from 76.1 million to 75 million during that time, while the number of renter households grew by nearly nine million as their percentage of all households increased from 31.2% in ’06 to 36.6% last year. “The current renting level exceeds the recent high of 36.2% set in 1986 and 1988 and approaches the rate of 37.0% in 1965,” the report states.