• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
Personal FinanceMillionaires

Even millionaire millennials are now renting instead of buying homes

Trey Williams
By
Trey Williams
Trey Williams
Down Arrow Button Icon
Trey Williams
By
Trey Williams
Trey Williams
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 31, 2023, 11:35 AM ET
The number of millionaire renters has tripled in the past five years.
The number of millionaire renters has tripled in the past five years.Westend61—Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

More and more millionaires are stepping on the everyman’s corner and renting apartments rather than putting down roots and money to become homeowners.

Roughly 43 million families across the country currently live in apartments—the highest level in half a century, according to a new report from apartment search site RentCafe. Included in that historic number of renters is a record-high number of millionaire renter households: 3,381, a number that tripled from 2015 to 2020, according to data RentCafe gathered from IPUMS.

The share of high-earning renters, categorized in the report as households making $150,000 or more a year, increased by 82% over the last five years, which is the largest jump from any renting income bracket.

In part, the rise in high-earning renters can be attributed to the increasing associated cost of homes, especially in more costly cities those renters seem to be drawn to.

“This becomes even more obvious when comparing home prices to renter income in the cities with the highest increases in high-income renters: In nine of the 10 cities where the number of top-earning renters leapfrogged considerably, growth in home prices was higher than the national average (29%),” RentCafe wrote.

The reasoning for more millionaire renters hopping in the market was a little less defined. RentCafe chalked it up to a matter of “comfort and smart investing.” Owning a home can come with more than its fair share of maintenance and costly repairs and upkeep. Then there’s the flexibility renting offers one to move from city to city for career opportunities. It’s worth noting that millennials, who tend to have a different relationship to buying a home, make up a majority of millionaire renters at 28%.

“Additionally, some high-earners, including some millionaires, prefer to funnel their cash into other types of assets that hold value,” RentCafe wrote.

It’s no surprise that wealthy renters live mainly on the coasts. While New York had the highest number of millionaire renters, San Francisco, which came in second, had the biggest spike in millionaire renters between 2015 and 2020.

The only income group to see a decline in the number of renter households was those collecting less than $50,000 a year, who fell by 11% in the rental market, according to RentCafe. Some, the report said, would have moved up into other income brackets, but a large portion of the roughly 3 million renter households that were lost were priced out of those markets.

In places like New York City, the dynamic has created a housing crisis in which those with more means have begun bidding more to rent apartments. The same goes for Midwestern cities like Chicago. While rents for one- and two-bedroom apartments in places like NYC and San Francisco have slowly started to decline, according to national data from rental site Zumper, they’re still more expensive than in January 2022.

“Rental demand is still relatively high, thanks to chronic undersupply in most markets plus many people opting out of the buying process,” CEO Anthemos Georgiades said in Zumper’s recent report. “Asking rent prices will likely continue flattening, but don’t expect them to come to a skidding halt.”

Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter examining what leaders need to succeed. Sign up here.

About the Author
Trey Williams
By Trey Williams
Twitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Personal Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Personal Finance

Types of mortgage loans: A guide to choosing the right one
Real Estatemortgages
Types of mortgage loans: A guide to choosing the right one
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 20, 2026
12 hours ago
debt
Personal Financestudent loans and debt
Student loan defaults hit record $233 billion with 1 in 5 borrowers over 9 months behind
By Nicky Forster, Heather Hollingsworth and The Associated PressJuly 20, 2026
14 hours ago
debt
Personal Financestudent loans and debt
Meet a 40-year-old who filed for bankruptcy in 2022 but still can’t erase $94,000 in student-loan debt: ‘you’re just lost in the system somewhere’
By Heather Hollingsworth, Nicky Forster and The Associated PressJuly 20, 2026
14 hours ago
Current price of gold as of July 20, 2026
Personal Financegold prices
Current price of gold as of July 20, 2026
By Danny BakstJuly 20, 2026
14 hours ago
How soon after closing can you refinance a mortgage?
Personal Financemortgages
How soon after closing can you refinance a mortgage?
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 20, 2026
15 hours ago
Top CD rates from major banks July 20, 2026: Chase CDs, Bank of America CDs, Citibank CDs, and more
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
Top CD rates from major banks on July 20, 2026: Chase CDs, Bank of America CDs, Citibank CDs, and more
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 20, 2026
17 hours ago

Most Popular

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
9 hours ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
13 hours ago
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
AI
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
By Jason MaJuly 18, 2026
2 days ago
Warren Buffett says his $147 billion investing career was an accident: ‘I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world’
Future of Work
Warren Buffett says his $147 billion investing career was an accident: ‘I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world’
By Sarah GlodekJuly 20, 2026
20 hours ago
Power companies are using eminent domain to seize land for data centers as 70% of Americans say not in my backyard
AI
Power companies are using eminent domain to seize land for data centers as 70% of Americans say not in my backyard
By Aaron Walayat and The ConversationJuly 19, 2026
2 days ago
It’s not just Taco Bell lettuce and possible glass in Pillsbury rolls: Food and drink recall events reached a 6-year year-over-year high
Retail
It’s not just Taco Bell lettuce and possible glass in Pillsbury rolls: Food and drink recall events reached a 6-year year-over-year high
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
17 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.