Soaring home prices, inflation, and heavy down payments are pushing more Americans toward renting as a long-term plan. Point2Homes analyzed the 75 largest U.S. metros using 25 key indicators that highlight both economy/housing and community/quality of life, also looking at attributes such as cost of living, job growth, local amenities, and community appeal.
Key Study Findings
- Richmond, Virginia and Raleigh, North Carolina were the top metros for Americans renting single-family homes, offering renters stability and comfort without the burden of ownership.
- Pennsylvania and Virginia each claimed two top metros for single-family renters—Pittsburgh and Allentown, Pennsylvania-New Jersey were a close race, while Richmond and Virginia Beach led the way in their state.
- The Omaha and St. Louis metro areas ranked best at financial factors by boasting lower renters’ insurance and unemployment rate, and more than half their single-family renters can comfortably afford housing costs.
- Oxnard, California ranked best in terms of overall quality of life…but none of California’s largest metros cracked the top best metros for single-family home renters.
Single-family rental households have grown by 31% throughout the last two decades, outpacing the 21% increase in owner-occupied homes, per Census data. This has led to an all-time-high surge in build-to-rent homes, newly constructed properties specifically designed for renting.
With renter households growing faster than homeowners nationwide, some metros manage to offer a mix of opportunity and quality of life. The East Coast claims half of the top 10 best metros for single-family home-renters.
Nearly one-third of U.S. renter households are single-family home renters, and long-term renting is on the rise: renters now stay for 10 years or more in the same house for rent. That’s all due to a perfect storm of rising home prices, limited housing supply, high mortgage rates, and rental prices that deter renters from moving. Unable to save for a down payment, they end up renting longer, especially those looking for the space, privacy, and comfort of a single-family home. So where can single-family home renters can get the most out of their renting experience? The top three U.S. metros for single-family home renters include:
- Richmond, Virginia (63.41 points): Richmond leads due to a combination of desirable attributes: a lower unemployment rate, a comfortable number of bedrooms and vehicles per single-family renter household, and good air quality. Professionally speaking, it recorded the second-highest year-over-year job growth at 3.4%, and is home to eight Fortune 500 companies. Richmond scores big in both Economy & Housing (4th place) and Community & Quality of Life (10th place).
- Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina (63.15 points): Part of the Research Triangle, the metro is not only a hub for innovation and career growth, it currently has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. It also happens to have some of the most single-family rental homes under construction, with plans to expand its build-to-rent inventory tenfold to meet rising rental demand.
- Salt Lake City-Murray, Utah (62.93 points): This metro might have a higher cost of living, but more than 56% of renters can comfortably afford their monthly housing expenses. The area enjoys a low unemployment rate, job growth close to 2%, and an average single-family renter household income of $93,345, all wrapped up in one of the best community indexes and the fourth-best walkability index.
- Salt Lake City-Murray, Utah (62.93 points): This metro might have a higher cost of living, but more than 56% of renters can comfortably afford their monthly housing expenses. The area enjoys a low unemployment rate, job growth close to 2%, and an average single-family renter household income of $93,345, all wrapped up in one of the best community indexes and the fourth-best walkability index.
Honorable Mention: Boise, Idaho
The second-smallest metro on the list ranks as the fourth best metro for single-family home renters, with the peace of mind of living in the safest metro on the list.
Economy & Housing Leaders
In Omaha, Nebraska and St. Louis, Missouri, two of the best-ranked metros for economy and housing, more than 55% of single-family renters can comfortably afford their housing costs. The two areas also score well in cost of living, reasonable renters’ insurance, and low unemployment rates. Omaha’s recent economic surge doesn’t hurt.
Community and Quality of Life Leaders
The Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura metropolitan area in California might fall short when it comes to cost of living, but with its community well-being, safety, and walkability, the metro ranks highest in terms of community and quality of life. The second-best place for single-family home renters is Providence-Warwick, Rhode Island-Massachusetts, which combines New England charm with safety and strong community engagement.
Big State Metros Rank High in Perks
No metro in Texas cracks the top 10 best metros for house renters; the closest being the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area, ranking 26th. As much as 58% of renters there are able to comfortably afford their monthly housing costs, making Austin one of the more financially viable options in the state.
Out west, California’s Bakersfield-Delano metro is the only large metro in the country where over 51% of renter households are single-family. San Francisco and San Jose boast the highest single-family renter incomes ($150,340 and $194,154, respectively), as well as the best community well-being indexes.
Down Florida way, Miami offers walkability, robust job growth, and a low unemployment rate—plus, as expected, abundant entertainment options, while Lakeland-Winter Haven, thesmallest metro on the list with just under 820,000 residents, has one of the highest percentages of house-renters at 39% to enjoy its spacious rental homes and minimal traffic delays.
The nation’s largest metro, New York-Newark-Jersey City, ranks 40th overall but stands out for its high-income levels among single-family renters, excellent walkability, and an abundance of entertainment options.
Click here for more on Point2Home’s examination of the nation’s top rental markets.
