The 10 Cities With the Biggest Jump in Renters
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The 10 Cities With the Biggest Jump in Renters

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The housing crisis and recession that followed has led to a sustained increase in the percentage of Americans who rent rather than own their homes -- from 38.5 percent to 43.3 percent -- but the shift has had a varied impact on different regions and demographics.

Americans living on the coasts, minorities and older millennials are among the groups that saw the biggest swings in the rates of home ownership, according to a new Trulia analysis,  “From Own to Rent: Who Lost the American Dream?”

The cities hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis saw the greatest increase in the percentage of renters, as homeowners who lost their properties were forced to become renters and investors turned many foreclosed homes into rentals.

Related: The States With the Hottest Housing Markets This Year

Las Vegas had the biggest jump in renters (from 39.6 percent in 2006 to 49.4 in 2014), followed by Phoenix and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. At the other end of the spectrum the percentage of renters in Buffalo, New York, which was relatively unaffected by the housing bust, held steady at about a third.

Annual Change in Renter Households

As the percentage of Americans renting their homes has gone up, so has the amount of rent they’re paying. Average rent in the top 50 U.S. markets has increased 22 percent over the past nine years, while incomes have fallen almost 6 percent.

Hispanics saw the biggest increase in renting since the crisis, up 8.7 percentage points to more than 66 percent. Asian-Americans saw the smallest increase in renters (2.2 percentage points), but whites remain the least likely to be renters overall. 

Here are the 10 cities that saw the biggest jump in the percentage of renters between 2006 and 2014:

  • Las Vegas, Nevada – 9.9 percentage point increase
  • Phoenix, Arizona – 9.2 percentage point increase
  • Fort Lauderdale, Florida – 8.3 percentage point increase
  • West Palm Beach, Florida – 7.8 percentage point increase
  • Tampa, Florida – 7.5 percentage point increase
  • Miami, Florida – 7.2 percentage point increase
  • Detroit, Michigan – 7.1 percentage point increase
  • Warren, Michigan – 6.7 percentage point increase
  • Oakland, California – 6.7 percentage point increase
  • Riverside/San Bernardino, California – 6.5 percentage point increase

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