Solo renters are providing a boost to the multifamily market across the Midwest, according to the latest research from RentCafe.
According to a RentCafe report released in late September, a record 16.7 million Americans are renting an apartment in the United States by themselves, no roommates.
This figure is on the rise, too. RentCafe reported that from 2016 through 2021, the number of renters living alone rose by about 1 million, an increase of 6.7%. That’s the renter group that is rising the fastest during the last five years.
The number of tenants who rented with roommates only rose 5.9% from 2016 through 2021, while the number who rented with family members fell by 4.5% during the same time.
Michigan, or at least the Grand Rapids area, has played a role in the rise of solo renters. RentCafe reported that the number of renters living alone in the Grand Rapids market rose to 39,802 in 2016. That was up from 35,188 solo renters in 2016, an increase of 13%. That accounted for 18% of the total share of Grand Rapid’s renter population.
The U.S. city that saw the greatest five-year change in the number of solo renters was Salt Lake City, Utah, where the number of solo renters jumped 25% from 2016 through 2021.
In the Midwest, Memphis, Tennessee, saw its number of solo renters jump 15% during the same period, while the number of lone renters in Indianapolis increased by 12%.
Several Midwest cities did make RentCafe’s list of the most affordable cities for solo renters. That included Detroit, which ranked 20th on RentCafe’s list.
According to the report, 20% of Detroit’s renters do so without a roommate, and the average age of tenants renting alone here is 58. RentCafe says that the average annual income of Detroit renters who live without a roommate was $36,856 in 2021. That’s higher than the average annual income during the same year of all renters, which came in at $30,489.
In other Midwest markets, solo renters in 2021 earned an average annual income of $30,520 in Akron, while the overall annual income for all renters here was $27,384. RentCafe ranked Akron as the most affordable big city for solo renters.
In Toledo, Ohio, solo renters earned an average of $32,015 a year while the area’s overall renter population earned an average of $27,278. Dayton, Ohio, had similar numbers, with solo renters earning an average of $34,153 a year while all renters overall earned an average of $29,397 a year.
In Omaha, solo renters earned an average of $37,562 a year in 2021 while all renters earned an average of $32,410. In Cleveland, these numbers stood at $34,379 for solo renters and $29,280 for all renters.
What age group is doing the most solo renting? Not surprising, Baby Boomers lead the way, making up 32.4% of the renters living alone in 2021, or 5.3 million people. Millennials are second, representing 29.5% of all Americans renting by themselves. According to RentCafe, about 4.8 million Millennials opted for solo renting arrangements in 2021.
Next comes Gen X, which makes up 21.3% of the population of solo renters in the United States. According to RentCafe, Gen X has 3.5 million solo renters.