Report: Renting in America’s Largest Metros

Research & Policy | March 8th 2016

The renter population grew in both central city and suburban areas while more renters struggled to find affordable housing in the 11 largest metropolitan areas in the US, according to the newly-released NYU Furman Center/Capital One National Affordable Rental Housing Landscape report.

The Landscape examined rental housing affordability trends in the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and San Francisco from 2006 to 2014 and identified the impact these trends had as the renter population increased while affordable housing rates continued to decline. “Affordable” rent should comprise less than 30 percent of a household’s income.

See the infographic with the report's key findings, or read a summary below. 

Download the PDFRenting in America's Largest Metropolitan Areas: The 2016 NYU Furman Center/Capital One National Affordable Rental Housing Landscape (PDF)

Metro ProfilesView the metro area-specific findings for the 11 largest metro areas in the US

 

Summary of Key Findings

The renter population is increasing throughout metropolitan areas

  • The rental population is booming – in 2014, there were nearly 22 million more renters in metro areas in the U.S. than in 2006.
  • In all of the metropolitan areas, the renter population grew in both the principal cities and the surrounding suburbs between 2006 and 2014, consistent with metro areas nationwide.
  • In 2014, among the 11 largest metro areas, the majority of central-city residents were renters everywhere except the Houston and Philadelphia metro areas.

Affordable housing out of reach for many

  • In the majority of the 11 metropolitan areas, the number of rental units that were affordable to the typical renter fell between 2006 and 2014.
  • Of the 11 largest U.S. metro areas, the Washington, DC metro area was the least affordable to the typical U.S. renter household in 2014, followed by the San Francisco and Los Angeles metro areas.
  • Dallas and Houston metro areas were the most affordable to the median U.S. renter household.

More renters lived in single-family homes

  • While single-family homes are often assumed to be owner-occupied, a sizable and growing portion of renters in the 11 metro areas lived in single-family units in 2014.
  • In all 11 metros, and in metros nationwide, a greater share of renter households lived in single-family homes in 2014 than did in 2006. Atlanta, Philadelphia and Houston were the top three cities with the most renters living in single-family homes.
  • In every metro except for Boston and New York City, more than one in five renters lived in a single-family home in 2014.

Considerable gap in supply and demand

  • The mismatched growth in demand and supply for rental units pushed rental vacancy rates down.
  • In the 11 largest metros, and in metros nationwide, the renter population grew more quickly than the number of rental housing units between 2006 and 2014, putting pressure on rental households.

Fewer rental units were affordable to renter households in the majority of metro areas

  • Incomes lagged well behind rents in the majority of the 11 metropolitan areas.
  • Seven out of the 11 largest metro areas became less affordable to the typical renter between 2006 and 2014.
  • In nine of the 11 largest metros, the typical renter in 2014 could have afforded less than 40 percent of recently available units.
  • In 2014, one quarter of renters in seven of the 11 largest metro areas, and in metro areas nationwide, were severely rent burdened, facing rents equal to at least half of their income.

The overwhelming majority of low-income renters were severely rent-burdened

  • In all 11 metro areas, low-income renters faced much more significant affordability challenges. Rising rents were not confined to central cities: in all but one of the metro areas studied, rents rose in the suburbs as well.
  • In eight of the 11 metros, at least a quarter of moderate-income renters—those earning between the 25th and 50th percentile income among renters in the metro area—faced severe rent burden.
  • In all 11 metro areas, and in metro areas nationwide, well over half of low-income renters, earning less than the 25th percentile renter income in their metro area, faced rents at or above half of their household income.

Average household size increased

  • In all 11 metro areas, the average number of people in each rental household rose.
  • Metro area units that were owner-occupied in 2005 but renter-occupied in 2013 had, on average, about 2.8 bedrooms, higher than the average of 2.1 bedrooms among all rental units in 2013.

 

Download the PDF: Renting in America's Largest Metropolitan Areas: The 2016 NYU Furman Center/Capital One National Affordable Rental Housing Landscape (PDF)
Metro Profiles: View the metro area-specific findings for the 11 largest metro areas in the US
Infographic: Visualizes trends in rental housing affordability in the 11 largest US metro areas

Press Release: NYU Furman Center & Capital One Report: Renter Population Growing in Nation’s Largest Metro Areas
Media inquiries: Shannon Moriarty, shannon.moriarty@nyu.edu

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