101 Zip Codes Switched to Renter Majority in the Last Decade

With more households renting now than at any point in the last 55 years, RentCafe.com uncovered in a recent study which zip codes radically changed their structure in the last 10 years. By and large, downtown areas have become a magnet for renters, despite the fact that many of them were severely impacted by pandemic-related restrictions.

To be more exact, eight of the 20 zip codes where the renter population increased by more than 80 percent in the past decade are located in or near city cores, according to the study.

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Specifically, zip code 78215 in downtown San Antonio, Texas, is the top-trending neighborhood for renters nationwide, boasting an unprecedented 238 percent increase in renter population compared to 10 years ago.

Next up is Downtown Miami, which saw a record growth of 173 percent in renter population in zip code 33123. Almost 10,000 renters—mostly Millennials and Gen Zers—live in this coveted area of Miami, where more than 3,800 new units were completed between 2017 and 2021 in an effort to meet heightened demand for rental housing.

Zip code 55415 in central Minneapolis, claims the third sport in RentCafe.com’s ranking. This neighborhood’s renter population increased by 162 percent in the last 10 years.

In Columbus, Ohio, the number of renters in zip code 43240 grew by 157 percent, while Chicago’s 60606 zip code saw a 151 percent rise in its renter population. Rounding up the top 10 are the following zip codes: 95134 in San Jose, Calif.; 78256 in San Antonio; 77002 in Houston; 55401 in Minneapolis; and 90013 in Los Angeles.

Five zip codes are occupied by renters only

While renters prevail in 632 zip codes throughout the U.S., RentCafe.com’s study also revealed that the population is exclusively made up of renters in five neighborhoods located in some of the nation’s largest rental markets.

As such, all people living in New York City’s zip code 10162, a small neighborhood located in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, are renters. Similarly, the 37228 zip code in Nashville, Tenn.—or the Metro Center neighborhood—is occupied exclusively by people who rent their homes, just like San Francisco’s 94130 zip code (known as Treasure Island), Dallas’ 75251 zip code (or the Preston Hollow neighborhood) and zip code 76155 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hot on their heels are the 94129 zip code in San Francisco (or the iconic Presidio neighborhood), where renters account for 99.3 percent of its population; the 85708 zip code in Tucson, Ariz., which has a renter majority of 99.2 percent; the 87116 zip code in Albuquerque, N.M., where renters make up 98.6 percent of its residents; and the 90014 and 90017 zip codes in Downtown Los Angeles, where renters account for 97.6 percent and 96.9 percent of their respective residents.