A new study from Redfin has found that approximately one-third (33.6%) of U.S. renters have lived in the same home for at least five years, up from 28.4% a decade ago.
While the majority of renters move within five years—including 25.6% moving within 12 months and 40.8% moving between one and four years—the rising cost of buying a home has pushed many to stay put for longer. The excessive costs of moving, or paying rental brokers in cities like New York, has also discouraged renters from moving regularly.
Nearly one in six (17%) renters had lived in the same property between five and nine years in 2023, compared to 14.4% in 2013. Nearly the same number (16.6%) stayed in the same home for 10+ years, compared to 13.9% a decade earlier.
“Monthly mortgage payments have nearly tripled over the past decade, preventing many renters from being able to buy a home,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “Rents spiked during the pandemic, but have stayed relatively flat over the past two years as home prices and mortgage rates continued to climb. That has encouraged renters to stay in the same home, where they are less likely to face major rent increases. The recent construction boom has also led to a record number of new apartments hitting the market, keeping rents down and setting 2025 up as a renter’s market where more Americans will choose to rent, or remain renters.”
Older Renters Staying in Place
More than one-third (34.1%) of baby boomers have lived in the same home for at least 10 years, the most of any generation, while 56% have stayed put for at least five years.
At the other end of the age spectrum, more than half of Gen Z renters (52.4%) had lived in their home for less than a year in 2023, the highest share among the generations.
Metro-Level Highlights
- Renters move most often in metros which became popular during the pandemic, including Denver, where 38% of renters stayed put for 12 months or less in 2023. That’s the highest share of the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Next come Austin, Texas (37.8%) and Salt Lake City, Utah (36.9%).
- Renters stay put longest in metros where the cost of buying a home is out of reach for many, led by New York, where just 14.9% of renters moved in 12 months or less in 2023. Next came Los Angeles (16.7%) and Riverside, California (18.9%).
- Renters move less often than a decade ago in all of the 50 most populous metros in Redfin’s analysis.
- At least one in five renters stayed in the same home for more than 10 years in five of the top 50 metros: New York (32.6%); Los Angeles (27.8%); San Francisco (26.4%); Providence, Rhode Island (20.9%); and Riverside, California (20%).
- Less than one in 10 renters stayed in the same home for more than 10 years in 11 of the top 50 metros, led by Austin, Texas (6%); Raleigh, North Carolina (8.2%); Orlando, Florida (8.2%); Jacksonville, Florida (8.8%); and Denver (8.8%).
Click here to view more on Redfin’s report on renter migration and tenure.
