46% of residents in Austin are renters – among the highest shares in the nation.
Austin, TX, is a quirky, cosmic cowboy paradise of live music, eclectic festivals, and delicious cuisine. It’s also a booming tech hub full of entrepreneurs and well-established corporations.
Residents can enjoy outdoor spaces like Zilker Park, which hosts music festivals and offers hiking trails, and Lady Bird Lake, perfect for kayaking and paddleboarding. Other notable landmarks include the Texas State Capitol, the bustling Sixth Street entertainment district, and the iconic Barton Springs Pool. The city is famous for its diverse food scene, particularly its barbecue and Tex-Mex, and it offers a lively atmosphere with a mix of cultural and recreational activities year-round.
However, the city has seen some dramatic changes lately, and house prices have fallen fast.
But what’s happening with the rental market? And why do so many Austin residents rent their home? Read on to learn everything you need to know.
46% of Austin residents are renters; 54% are homeowners
46.3% of Austin residents rent their home – the fifth-highest share in the country. 53.7% of residents own their home. Nationally, the average rentership rate is 34%.
A major reason for the high rentership rate is likely the housing market. House prices have been consistently rising across the country, and have been especially unaffordable in popular metros like Austin and San Diego. The median sale price for a home in Austin is $562,750, well above the national median of $442,000.
Even though house prices in Austin are high, they’re actually much lower than they were immediately following the pandemic, when they reached $666,830. In fact, prices in Austin have dropped the most among the 50 largest metros since the pandemic, mirroring the recent rollercoaster of growth the city has experienced.
In 2020, Austin became a top destination for homebuyers seeking sunshine and affordability, and by the end of 2020, it was the most popular metro for relocating homebuyers. The popularity continued for years until 2022, when the rapid increases priced some people out. By the end of 2023, Austin saw a net loss of homebuyers for the first time on record.
Today, prices may be low compared to cities like San Francisco and Seattle, but they are very high for a historically affordable Sun Belt city. As such, many residents are left renting, which is much more affordable in part because there is an abundance of supply. Rent prices have cooled recently and builders are slowing down their frenzied construction, though many residents are still cost-burdened.
What’s happening with nationwide rentership rates?
Nationwide, the rentership rate rose 1.9% year over year to 34.4% in the second quarter of 2024, meaning over one-third of Americans are renters. In contrast, homeownership saw a modest 0.6% increase, but remains much more common at 65.6%.
This is the third-straight quarter that rentership outpaced homeownership. The last time this happened was in 2022, when mortgage rates rose to the highest level since 2008. Rentership consistently outpaced homeownership from 2006-2017, as well.
Why are more people renting?
Rentership rates vary widely throughout the country and are generally correlated to house prices – the more expensive houses are, the more people will be pushed into renting.
One reason for the increase in rentership is because homeownership is historically unaffordable and showing little sign of improving. Sale prices are also growing much faster than rents: 4% year over year compared to 0.7%. Nearly two in five renters don’t think they’ll ever own a home.
Another reason is because rental supply has more or less kept up with increasing demand. New apartment construction skyrocketed to record levels during the pandemic and has only now started to slow, helping keep rent price growth low.
The U.S. has also been adding more renter households than homeowner households since 2022. The number of renter households grew at the second-fastest pace since 2015, while the number of homeowner households grew at the slowest pace since 2022.
Which U.S. metros have the highest share of renters?
Rentership rates are the highest in expensive coastal metros like Los Angeles (53%) and San Diego (52%), where house prices regularly surpass $1 million. Prices are also tied to available rental supply.
Metros with the highest share of renters
| Metro | Rentership rate | Homeownership rate |
| Los Angeles, CA | 53.0% | 47.0% |
| San Diego, CA | 52.4% | 47.6% |
| New York, NY | 50.1% | 49.9% |
| Fresno, CA | 49.0% | 51.0% |
| Austin, TX | 46.3% | 53.7% |
| San Jose, CA | 44.8% | 55.2% |
| Honolulu, HI | 42.5% | 57.5% |
| San Francisco, CA | 41.8% | 58.2% |
| Las Vegas, CA | 41.6% | 58.4% |
| San Antonio, TX | 40.9% | 59.1% |
Which U.S. metros have the lowest share of renters?
In particularly affordable metros, like Worcester, MA (23%) and North Port, FL (23%), rentership rates are the lowest. A lack of rental inventory and zoning restrictions could also play a role.
Metros with the lowest share of renters
| Metro | Rentership rate | Homeownership rate |
| Worcester, MA | 23.2% | 76.8% |
| North Port, FL | 23.3% | 76.7% |
| Albany, NY | 25.6% | 74.4% |
| Rochester, NY | 25.7% | 74.3% |
| Syracuse, NY | 26.2% | 73.8% |
| Cape Coral, FL | 26.3% | 73.7% |
| Cincinnati, OH | 26.8% | 73.2% |
| Hartford, CT | 27.2% | 72.8% |
| Richmond, VA | 27.7% | 72.3% |
| Albuquerque, NM | 27.7% | 72.3% |
Methodology
Based on a Redfin analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data for the 75 largest U.S. metros. A renter household is defined as one where the head of the household reports to the Census that they are renting out the property. A homeowner household is one where the head of household reports they own the property.
