16.7 Million Americans Are Renting Alone; Salt Lake City Saw the Highest Surge

Renting is a common housing arrangement for many Americans, but not all renters like sharing their space with other people. In fact, the number of people renting an apartment alone is on the rise. Between 2016 and 2021, solo renters gained about 1 million people, reaching 16.7 million (up 6.7%). That’s the fastest-rising renter group during those five years, having accelerated significantly during 2020.

Baby Boomers and Millennials are the biggest fans of renting an apartment alone, while very few Gen Zers are venturing on their own. That’s mainly because living alone comes at a premium cost: To rent an apartment alone, a renter needs an extra annual income of $8,600 compared to the average renter.

Salt Lake City saw the biggest increase in solo renters between 2016 and 2021, while Philadelphia and Indianapolis recorded the largest shares of people renting an apartment alone.

At the same time, living alone as a renter is easiest (from a financial point of view) in Akron and other places in Ohio.

Renting alone has become increasingly popular in recent years. In fact, the number of solo renters reached a record high of 17.7 million in 2020, as the pandemic spread and more people adopted distancing. 

On the other hand, renters living with roommates saw a different pattern: They peaked at 6.3 million in 2019, and only partially bounced back to 5.8 million after the pandemic. Meanwhile, people living with family in rented apartments dropped from 71.3 million in 2016 to 68.1 million in 2021.

With that in mind, we wanted to get a clearer view of the evolution of renting alone across the country in recent years, including the breakdown by generation, which metros saw the biggest increases in the number of renters living alone, and where it was easiest and hardest to rent alone.

Baby Boomers have the biggest slice of solo renting, followed by Millennials

Baby Boomers make up the largest population of people renting an apartment alone in the U.S. (32.4%, or 5.3 million), whereas just half a million share their rental home with a roommate. This can be largely attributed to the fact that aging in place is more feasible these days, especially with the rise of smart home technologies and easy access to online shopping and services — all the while the "gray divorce" phenomenon is on the rise.

What's more, Baby Boomers living alone need an income of just under $50,000 to maintain a solo renter lifestyle. That's approximately $16,300 more than what the average renter needs in order to afford to rent, based on individual income estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Next, although the majority of Millennials are now homeowners, they remain the dominant generation of renters — and about 4.8 million of them are opting for solo living arrangements, either by choice or by necessity. Thus, Millennials represent 29.5% of Americans renting by themselves.  

In addition, Millennials renting alone boast an average income of $55,973, which is about $22,300 above the average renter's income. That’s a clear indication of how much they value having their own space and freedom — without having to deal with the inconvenience of sharing their rental homes with others.

Gen X represents 3.5 million solo renters enjoying privacy at home as hybrid work (and loneliness) persists. They are followed by the Silent Generation (totaling 2.1 million solo renters), and Gen Zers, with 640,000.

Solo renters surge the most in Salt Lake City, but Texas dominates the top 10

Salt Lake City saw the biggest increase in the share of renters living alone between 2016 and 2021 among all metros analyzed — up by as much as 24.9% for a total of 50,265 renters. That said, lone renters here account for 15% of the metro’s entire population of renters.

Plus, with healthcare, technology and energy thriving in Salt Lake City, it’s easy to see why so many renters are choosing to call this growing city home. Granted, the cost of living in Salt Lake City is slightly higher than the national average, but it’s still relatively affordable compared to other big metros.

Next comes McAllen, TX, which attracts renters with its extremely reasonable cost of living, affordable housing and growing economy. Here, the share of lone renters grew 24.2% to a total of 19,579 in 2021, or 8% of the metro’s renter population.

Staying in the Lone Star State, solo renters in Austin grew 23.9%, from 114,510 to 141,923 in five years. With that, this category now represents 18% of the city’s population of renters. And, with its booming tech industry, many professionals in “Silicon Hills” enjoy the convenience of renting alone.

At the same time, San Antonio’s share of solo renters saw a 21.7% spike, pushing the number of renters living alone throughout the metro to 125,638, or 15% of its entire renter population. Dallas completes the list of Texas cities dominating the top 10, due to its 16% increase between 2016 and 2021. As such, lone renters in the Big D now total 402,404, making up 15% of all renters in the metro.

Interestingly, among all metros analyzed, Philadelphia and Indianapolis boast the largest share of people renting an apartment alone — both at 20% — after their numbers increased by 12.7% and 12%, respectively, in those five years. Currently, solo renters total about 352,000 in Philadelphia and almost 122,000 in Indianapolis.

Lone renters get the best bang for their buck in Ohio, with Akron emerging as the best metro to rent alone

Living alone as a renter can be challenging financially. However, there are some places in the U.S. where solo renters can afford to live comfortably and enjoy a good quality of life without breaking the bank. To that end, we ranked the locations where the gap between the income of lone renters and the income of average renters is the smallest. In this case, Ohio claims four spots among the top 10 metros where it’s easiest on the wallet to live as a solo renter.

From a financial standpoint, Akron, OH, is the nation’s best metro for lone renters (who earn an extra $261 per month compared to regular renters). More precisely, those renting in Akron alone have an average annual income of $30,520, while the average renter makes $27,384 per year. That said, 42,515 (or 21%) of all renters here live alone and enjoy Akron’s low cost of living, budding startup scene, and all of the attractions it has to offer.

Likewise, Pittsburgh is the #2 metro in the U.S. where it’s easiest to rent alone. Making up more than 25% of the city’s population of renters, those renting alone in Pittsburgh have an average yearly income of $36,706. That’s just $3,382 (or 10%) more than what regular renters make per year.

Further northeast. in Providence, RI, renters living without roommates represent 20% of the metro’s renter population. On average, their annual income is $36,354, which is 13% higher than a regular renter’s income in the area. This means that lone renters in Providence make an extra $4,380 per year, or $365 per month.

Elsewhere in Ohio, Toledo (#4 in our ranking) is a good option for renters who want to live alone and enjoy a low-cost and high-quality lifestyle. Here, solo renters (comprising 21% of the total) have an average income of $32,015 (up 12% since 2016). This means that those renting in Toledo alone make an extra $4,736 per year (or $395 per month) more than the average renter in the area.

Following very closely is Dayton, OH, where solo renters — who represent 20% of the metro’s apartment dwellers — can find plenty of job opportunities while enjoying a relatively affordable lifestyle. Likewise, Cleveland offers lone renters a great balance of comfort and affordability.

Other metros that made it into our top 20 for solo renting include Knoxville, TN; Omaha, NE; Worcester, MA; Rochester, NY; Hartford, CT; Milwaukee, WI; New Haven, CT; Buffalo, NY; Minneapolis, MN; Kansas City, MO; Greensboro, NC; and Louisville, KY, with Detroit landing in the 20th spot.

California claims half of the top 20 places where it’s hardest to rent alone, led by San Jose

In sharp contrast, renters who venture out alone in less affordable places need much higher incomes to achieve an independent and comfortable lifestyle. That said, living alone in a rental apartment in California can be challenging, and most renters have to share their space with roommates or family members to afford the sky-high costs of living and housing. Thus, unsurprisingly, 10 of the top 20 metros where it’s hardest to rent alone are located in the Golden State.

First, with solo renters representing just 9% of all people renting in San Jose, CA, those seeking privacy here in Silicon Valley’s largest city have an average income of $93,288. Renters who live alone make 37% more than the average renter here. In net figures, that’s a difference of $29,376 per year or $2,448 per month. By comparison, in San Jose, those living with roommates or family in rented units have an average income of $63,912.

Meanwhile, lone renters in Santa Maria, CA — who make up 9% of the metro’s population of renters — have an annual income of $61,912, which is about 42% higher than what the average renter makes ($36,456 per year). And, in Salinas, CA, solo renters have an average income of $56,834, which is about 57% more than what the average renter makes per year.

Similarly, in Los Angeles — where those renting alone make up 11% of all apartment dwellers in the area and have an annual income of $54,156, while the average renter makes $36,181 per year. In other words, to afford to rent by yourself in the City of Angels you need to make an extra $17,975 per year, or around $1,500 per month.

By comparison, people renting an apartment alone in San Francisco require a higher income than in Los Angeles ($73,329, on average). That’s approximately 25% higher than the average renter's income in the area.

Breaking the California spell, those living alone in a rental apartment in Washington, DC, earn $67,272 per year, on average — or almost 30% more than the average renter's annual income. Here, solo renters represent 16% of apartment dwellers in the metro.

And, on the East Coast, those renting alone in the notoriously pricey New York metro make an extra $13,839 per year (or $1,153 per month) compared to the average renter. That said, the average income of those renting alone in the metro is $56,511.

The extra cost of renting alone varies from metro to metro and from state to state. Click on the tabs below to see the data for different places in California, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Tennessee, and New York.

Methodology

RentCafe.com is a nationwide apartment search website that enables renters to easily find apartments and houses for rent throughout the U.S.

For this study, we looked at the number of renters living alone across 260 U.S. metro areas available from IPUMS SDA 5-Year estimates: Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Matthew Sobek, Danika Brockman, Grace Cooper, Stephanie Richards, and Megan Schouweiler. IPUMS USA: Version 13.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2023. 

IPUMS stands for Integrated Public Use Microdata Series and provides census and survey data from around the world, integrated across time and space. IPUMS is part of the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation at the University of Minnesota.

The data was extracted from the IPUMS USA through the online analysis tool for all of the years available for the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Gen Z using the following variables: metro area, ownership, relationship to household head, generation breaks by Pew Research Center definitions, year, age and personal income.

In creating the rankings, we considered 86 metros with a population of at least 200,000 and the top 20 metro areas by size for the main table with the five-year changes for each metro area.

In the article, the terms "metro", "area", "city" and "place" are used interchangeably but all refer to metropolitan areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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