Suburbs are traditionally a refuge for people who can’t afford to own a home in a big city. But according to a new study, renters are beginning to dominate even the suburbs, leading developers to turn their attention away from urban centers.
“Once homeownership strongholds, suburbs are ceding ground to the new housing reality: The renter-dominated suburb,” the report stated.
Using U.S. Census Bureau data from the 20 largest U.S. metros and surrounding suburbs with a population of more than 10,000, researchers at Point2Homes found that the number of renter households in these areas grew to roughly six million by 2023, up by 231,000 from 2018.
Among the roughly 1,500 suburbs included, 203 were renter majorities in 2023, which was actually down from a peak of 222 in 2018. Still, renter households more than doubled over this five-year period in 15 major suburbs, which explains the overall increase nationwide. In fact, according to the study, the number of rental homes in the suburbs of five major cities grew faster than in the cities themselves: Dallas, Minneapolis, Boston, Tampa, Fla., and Baltimore.
Three suburbs had a nearly 100 percent rental share, but market conditions had little to do with it: Rentals prevailed because they served the short-term housing needs of adjacent military bases: Fort Meade, Md.; Camp Pendleton South, Calif.; and Fort Lewis, Wash. But the following six suburbs, when ranking by renter share, all topped 80 percent: Cudahy, Calif. (Los Angeles), University, Fla. (Tampa), Clarkston, Ga. (Atlanta), Addison, Texas (Dallas), Harrison, N.J. (New York City), and Webster, Texas (Houston).
Much of the growth reflects a surge in the build-to-rent industry, which reached an all-time high in 2024, according to Point2Homes, with 39,000 new single-family rentals completed. That was a 16 percent increase over 2023, and much more than the roughly 6,000 or 7,000 that typically came to market during prepandemic years.
Shayla Colon is a reporter covering New York City and a member of the 2024-25 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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