In the last 10 years, neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Houston have rapidly changed from owner hot spots to renter havens. As home prices have risen, renting is at the highest level in 50 years, according to a recent RentCafe report.
With 43.7 million households currently living in rentals, findings show that 101 ZIP codes, including 41% of ZIP codes in the 50 largest cities, have become renter majority in the past decade.
Zooming into the 1,500 ZIP codes RentCafe studied, Columbus, Ohio, saw the fastest jump of renters with an increase of 157% in the last 10 years. With seven new renter majority ZIP codes, Philadelphia has the largest number of ZIP codes that made the shift.
Both with six ZIP codes each, Memphis, Tennessee, and Houston have also seen a large shift of renter dominance. As a state, Texas has the highest number of neighborhoods that are renting hot spots with 17 in total; Florida follows with 11.
Downtown areas became more popular for renters in 2020 compared with 10 years prior. Tripling its renter population in 10 years, San Antonio’s 78215 is the top trending ZIP code for renters in the nation. Miami's 33132 and central Minneapolis' 55415 have recorded increases of over 160% in renter population.
Also fast-growing, Los Angeles has the largest number of ZIP codes at 16 and Houston is closely behind with 14 trending renter ZIP codes. Los Angeles’ 90011 ZIP code is home to 78,000 renters, which is two-thirds of its population. With over 40 ZIP codes where renters are more than 50% of the population, both Los Angeles and New York have the most renter-majority ZIP codes.
New York; Nashville, Tennessee; San Francisco; Dallas; and Fort Worth, Texas, all have one neighborhood exclusively inhabited by renters. Nashville’s 37228, San Francisco's 94130, Dallas’ 75251, and Fort Worth’s 76155 are all renter-only ZIP codes. In terms of population, the smallest one is New York City’s 10162 with all 1,240 residents renting.
