Data Study · 3 min read
Renters vs Owners: Housing Tenure in the 50 Largest US Metros and Their Downtowns
Published October 10, 2026 by the Demografics team
Whether residents rent or own shapes what they buy. Homeowners spend on home improvement, garden and furnishing products; renters move more often and tend to have smaller homes. Tenure is one of the simplest and most reliable indicators in census data, because it comes from a single, unambiguous question.
Across the 50 largest metros, 1 is majority-renter at the metro level (Los Angeles–Long Beach, CA). Los Angeles–Long Beach, CA has the highest renter share at 51.3%; Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN-WI has the lowest at 29.1%. Downtowns are a different world: all 25 downtown areas we measured are renter-majority within 3 miles of City Hall.
How we measured
Renter share = renter-occupied housing units divided by all occupied housing units (ACS table B25003). Vacant homes are not counted. Each downtown is measured from City Hall at its street address. Miami is measured from the Stephen P. Clark Government Center (111 NW 1st St) because Miami City Hall sits in Coconut Grove, outside the downtown core.
| Metro area | Renter-occupied | Median household income |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles–Long Beach, CA | 51.3% | $89,105 |
| New York–Newark, NY-NJ-PA | 48.3% | $93,610 |
| San Diego–Chula Vista, CA | 45.8% | $96,974 |
| San Francisco–Oakland, CA | 44.6% | $129,315 |
| San Jose–Sunnyvale, CA | 44.1% | $151,713 |
| Las Vegas–Henderson, NV | 43.8% | $69,911 |
| Austin–Round Rock, TX | 41.2% | $92,939 |
| Dallas–Fort Worth, TX | 40.1% | $83,398 |
| Miami–Fort Lauderdale, FL | 40.0% | $69,085 |
| Milwaukee–Waukesha, WI | 39.8% | $72,937 |
| Seattle–Tacoma, WA | 39.5% | $107,206 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 39.3% | $62,178 |
| Houston–The Woodlands, TX | 38.9% | $78,061 |
| Boston–Cambridge, MA-NH | 38.5% | $107,117 |
| Columbus, OH | 38.3% | $76,541 |
| Sacramento–Roseville, CA | 38.0% | $89,227 |
| Portland–Vancouver, OR-WA | 37.8% | $90,451 |
| Providence–Warwick, RI-MA | 37.6% | $81,136 |
| Virginia Beach–Norfolk, VA-NC | 37.5% | $77,082 |
| San Antonio–New Braunfels, TX | 37.1% | $70,910 |
| Orlando–Kissimmee, FL | 37.1% | $71,551 |
| New Orleans–Metairie, LA | 36.2% | $62,748 |
| Washington–Arlington, DC-VA-MD-WV | 36.1% | $119,803 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 35.9% | $67,963 |
| Denver–Aurora, CO | 35.7% | $96,920 |
| Riverside–San Bernardino, CA | 35.0% | $81,041 |
| Cleveland–Elyria, OH | 34.8% | $66,481 |
| Chicago–Naperville, IL-IN-WI | 34.8% | $85,087 |
| Atlanta–Sandy Springs, GA | 34.7% | $82,625 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 34.6% | $78,827 |
| Phoenix–Mesa, AZ | 34.4% | $79,935 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 34.2% | $73,194 |
| Nashville–Davidson, TN | 34.1% | $79,020 |
| Charlotte–Concord, NC-SC | 34.0% | $76,177 |
| Buffalo–Cheektowaga, NY | 33.8% | $67,638 |
| Indianapolis–Carmel, IN | 33.7% | $73,571 |
| Hartford–East Hartford, CT | 33.2% | $89,371 |
| Raleigh–Cary, NC | 33.2% | $91,818 |
| Richmond, VA | 33.2% | $80,877 |
| Philadelphia–Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 33.1% | $85,555 |
| Tampa–St. Petersburg, FL | 33.1% | $67,197 |
| Baltimore–Columbia, MD | 33.0% | $94,167 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 32.1% | $76,247 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 32.1% | $90,277 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 32.1% | $69,771 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 30.2% | $75,316 |
| Birmingham–Hoover, AL | 29.8% | $68,329 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 29.8% | $71,283 |
| Detroit–Warren, MI | 29.4% | $72,456 |
| Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN-WI | 29.1% | $94,673 |
Downtown tenure
| City | Downtown (3 mi) | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 87% | 51.3% |
| Detroit, MI | 76% | 29.4% |
| Dallas, TX | 75% | 40.1% |
| Miami, FL | 75% | 40.0% |
| New York, NY | 74% | 48.3% |
| San Francisco, CA | 72% | 44.6% |
| Boston, MA | 71% | 38.5% |
| Seattle, WA | 69% | 39.5% |
| San Diego, CA | 69% | 45.8% |
| Minneapolis, MN | 68% | 29.1% |
| Washington, DC | 66% | 36.1% |
| Phoenix, AZ | 65% | 34.4% |
| St. Louis, MO | 65% | 30.2% |
| Portland, OR | 64% | 37.8% |
| Denver, CO | 64% | 35.7% |
| Houston, TX | 61% | 38.9% |
| Baltimore, MD | 61% | 33.0% |
| Atlanta, GA | 60% | 34.7% |
| Chicago, IL | 60% | 34.8% |
| Charlotte, NC | 59% | 34.0% |
| Philadelphia, PA | 58% | 33.1% |
| San Antonio, TX | 57% | 37.1% |
| Tampa, FL | 53% | 33.1% |
| Riverside, CA | 52% | 35.0% |
| Orlando, FL | 51% | 37.1% |
Do renter-heavy areas have lower incomes?
Not necessarily. Across the 50 metros, the correlation between renter share and median household income is 0.38 (a weak positive relationship). Across the 25 downtown circles it is 0.05 (essentially no relationship). New York, NY, Houston, TX, Boston, MA, San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA and Washington, DC combine a renter share above 60% with a median household income above $100,000 within 3 miles of City Hall.
What tenure tells a retailer
- Home-improvement, garden and furniture concepts depend on owners; check tenure before anything else.
- Renter-heavy areas see more households arriving each year, which helps businesses that win customers when people move: phone carriers, internet providers, gyms, banks and grocery stores.
- High renter shares do not mean low incomes. Several of the most renter-heavy downtowns in this data also have high median incomes.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2018–2022 (tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B11001, B19001, B19013, B25003, C24050).
- U.S. Census Bureau, TIGERweb 2020 census tract boundaries (used to find the tracts inside each trade radius).
More data studies
- Who Lives Within 3 Miles of Downtown? Census Profiles of 25 Major US Cities
- 1, 3 or 5 Miles? How a Trade Radius Changes the Picture in 25 US Downtowns
- Is Downtown Richer or Poorer Than the Metro? Income in 25 US Cities Compared
- Where Young Adults Live: The 18–34 Share in the 50 Largest US Metros and 25 Downtowns