Quick quiz: Which city has the highest percentage of renters: Chicago, Miami, or College Station, Texas? Believe it or not, it's College Station, with 59.1% renters. Chicago and Miami are both predominantly homeowner cities. Chicago has only 36.1% renters, Miami, 41.49%.
Of more than 400 urbanized areas around the country with a population greater than 100,000, just 21 are composed of at least 50% renters, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 American Community Survey. The full report was compiled by ADOBO and is based on data from The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey about occupied housing units in Urbanized Areas with a population of at least 100,000.
Not far behind is Athens-Clarke County, GA, with 57.5%, and Killeen, TX, with 56.0%. Other somewhat surprising cities include Columbus, GA (53.6%); Clarksville, TN (51.9%); Fayetteville, NC (51.2%); and Fargo, ND (50.2%). A number of big cities do make the list of majority rentals. Most housing units (53.9%) in the Los Angeles area are rented, not owned. The same goes for New York (50.7%) and San Francisco (50.9%). Five California cities make the list, more than any other state.
Many of the nation’s largest cities are unexpectedly absent from this list. Dallas, Houston, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia are still dominated by homeowners. Both Dallas and Houston are hovering around the 43% renters' mark, while Washington, D.C., is 40.42% and Philadelphia is just 33.8% renters.
WHO'S RENTING, WHO OWNS A HOME?
A cursory glance at the age or renters hews to conventional wisdom, according to the ADOBO report. The majority of renters in the list of 21 renter-dominated cities are under 44 years old, with the highest percentage (24.29%) falling between the ages of 25 and 34. Owners tend to be older — 77.16% are over 45.
But a closer look at the age breakdown reveals some interesting divisions, especially on the renting side. In renter-dominated cities, the percentages are more equally spread across age groups for renting than for owning a home. Although over 50% of renters are 15 to 44 in age, a sizable percentage are older: 18.62% are 45 to 54, and another 14.13% are 55 to 64. A higher percentage of renters are 65 to 74 (8.32%) or 75-plus (6.96%) than 15 to 24 (5.9%).
These are all demographic factors that developers of rental apartments and condominiums - and their design and construction teams - need to keep in mind as they pursue future multifamily projects.
Related Stories
| Sep 3, 2014
Ranked: Top local government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
STV, HOK, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest local government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 3, 2014
New designation launched to streamline LEED review process
The LEED Proven Provider designation is designed to minimize the need for additional work during the project review process.
| Sep 2, 2014
Ranked: Top green building sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
AECOM, Gensler, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Sep 2, 2014
Extreme conversion: 17-story industrial silo to be converted to high-rise housing
As part of Copenhagen's effort to turn an industrial seaport into a bustling neighborhood, Danish architecture firm COBE was invited to convert a grain silo into a residential tower.
| Sep 2, 2014
Melbourne's tallest residential tower will have 'optically transformative façade'
Plans for Melbourne's tallest residential tower have been released by Elenberg Fraser Architects. Using an optically transformative façade and botanical aesthetic, the project seeks to change the landscape of Australia's Victoria state.
| Sep 1, 2014
Ranked: Top federal government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Clark Group, Fluor, and HOK top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest federal government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 25, 2014
Tall wood buildings: Surveying the early innovators
Timber has been largely abandoned as a structural solution in taller buildings during the last century, in favor of concrete and steel. Perkins+Will's Rebecca Holt writes about the firm's work in surveying the burgeoning tall wood buildings sector.
| Aug 25, 2014
'Vanity space' makes up large percentage of world's tallest buildings [infographic]
Large portions of some skyscrapers are useless space used to artificially enhance their height, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Aug 21, 2014
Apartment construction hits 25-year high
The boost to apartment construction suggests that job gains are encouraging the creation of households.
| Aug 19, 2014
Goettsch Partners unveils design for mega mixed-use development in Shenzhen [slideshow]
The overall design concept is of a complex of textured buildings that would differentiate from the surrounding blue-glass buildings of Shenzhen.