Here's Where Renters Outstrip Homeowners Across the US

Renters outnumber homeowners in 41% of the zip codes in the nation’s largest cities, with as many as 101 zip codes turning to renter-majority over the last decade.

According to an analysis from RentCafe, San Antonio’s 78215 is the top trending zip codes for US renters and has tripled its renter population over the last 10 years. And of new renter majority zip codes, Columbus, Ohio’s 43240 has seen the fastest uptick in the number of renters, followed by Chicago’s 60606 (which includes the burgeoning West Loop) and San Antonio’s 78256.

RentCafe analysts say about 68% of the people living in 43420 in Columbus are renters, a 157% increase over the last 10 years. It overlaps with the Polaris neighborhood, home to a community of renters with a median age of 31, and where renters earn a per capita income that’s 25% higher than the overall Columbus area, according to Census data.

“The American dream of homeownership has been rehashed throughout the past decade, with more households renting than at any point in the last 55 years,” writes RentCafe’s Andrea Neculae. “Although renting was previously considered an alternative brought on solely by circumstances, one-third of this decade’s renters now say that it’s a matter of choice. In fact, according to our previous study, a diverse set of 23 large and mid-sized cities transitioned from owner- to renter-majority between 2010 and 2020.”

In addition, the Philadelphia area leads in terms of the most neighborhoods that transitions to renter-majority at a total of seven zip codes, followed by Memphis and Houston with six zip codes each.

RentCafe also notes that many of the zip codes with the fastest-growing renter populations are in downtown urban cores: eight of the 20 neighborhoods that grew their renter populations by more than 80% in the past decade are in or near downtowns. San Antonio is the top trending neighborhood nationally, with zip code 78215 in the city’s downtown seeing its renter population tick up 238% from 2011 to 2020. Downtown Miami is behind, with a record 173% increase in zip code 33123, followed by 55415 in central Minneapolis with a 162% leap.