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
Multifamily Housing | Feb 8, 2022
Suffolk to build Alba Palm Beach
The project will feature 55 residences.
| Feb 4, 2022
New apartment complex Dixon Place honors the history of Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City’s Sugar House neighborhood has been experiencing somewhat of a renaissance as of late, and the opening of new apartment community Dixon Place continues that trend. MVE + Partners took leadership in the design of the 59-unit, Class A development.
Sponsored | Steel Buildings | Jan 25, 2022
Multifamily + Hospitality: Benefits of building in long-span composite floor systems
Long-span composite floor systems provide unique advantages in the construction of multi-family and hospitality facilities. This introductory course explains what composite deck is, how it works, what typical composite deck profiles look like and provides guidelines for using composite floor systems. This is a nano unit course.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 20, 2022
Texas’ first cohousing residential community breaks ground in East End Houston
The design will include sustainability elements.
Coronavirus | Jan 20, 2022
Advances and challenges in improving indoor air quality in commercial buildings
Michael Dreidger, CEO of IAQ tech startup Airsset speaks with BD+C's John Caulfield about how building owners and property managers can improve their buildings' air quality.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 13, 2022
Astra Tower will be Salt Lake City’s tallest high-rise
HKS designed the project.
3D Printing | Jan 12, 2022
Using 3D-printed molds to create unitized window forms
COOKFOX designer Pam Campbell and Gate Precast's Mo Wright discuss the use of 3D-printed molds from Oak Ridge National Lab to create unitized window panels for One South First, a residential-commercial high-rise in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 12, 2022
Nabr, co-founded by Bjarke Ingels, looks to reimagine the future of urban living
The company’s first development is slated to break ground in summer 2022.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 12, 2022
Construction begins on downtown Phoenix’s PALMtower
The multifamily tower will rise 28-stories.
ProConnect Events | Jan 8, 2022
ProConnect Events 2022: Multifamily, Sustainability, Education, and Single Family – watch the video to learn how to participate!
At ProConnect events, building product manufacturers meet with AEC professionals and real estate developers to discuss upcoming building projects, new products, and technical solutions.