In 2018, there were approximately 43 million housing units occupied by renters in the United States. This number has remained steady since 2014, but is part of a long-term upward swing since 1975. This is also reflected in the downward trend of residential vacancy rates across the country. This suggests that demand for rental housing is on the rise, and that supply is failing to keep up with it.
Why are rental homes in such high demand?
This high demand for rental homes may be related to the unaffordability of homeownership. Not being able to afford to buy a home was the biggest reason renters gave when asked why they didn’t currently own a home in a recent survey. The monthly costs of homeownership versus rental costs vary by state. In 2018, it was less expensive to rent a home in Hawaii, Washington D.C. and Colorado than it was to buy. However, the opposite was true in California, New York and Louisiana.
Number of renter occupied housing units in the United States from 1975 to 2018
(in millions)
This feature is limited to our corporate solutions.
Please contact us to get started with full access to dossiers, forecasts, studies and international data.
Corporate Account
Statista Accounts:
Access All Statistics. Starting from $708 / Year
Basic Account
Get to know the platform
You only have access to basic statistics.
This statistic is not included in your account!
Premium Account
Your perfect start with Statista
Instant access to 1m statistics
Download in XLS, PDF & PNG format
Detailed references
$59 / Month *
Corporate Account
Full access
Corporate solution including all features.
* All products require an annual contract.
Prices do not include sales tax.
Statista Accounts:
Access All Statistics. Starting from $708 / Year
Learn more about how Statista can support your business.
US Department of Housing and Urban Development. (March 31, 2019). Number of renter occupied housing units in the United States from 1975 to 2018 (in millions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved February 19, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/187577/housing-units-occupied-by-renter-in-the-us-since-1975/
US Department of Housing and Urban Development. "Number of renter occupied housing units in the United States from 1975 to 2018 (in millions)." Chart. March 31, 2019. Statista. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/187577/housing-units-occupied-by-renter-in-the-us-since-1975/
US Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2019). Number of renter occupied housing units in the United States from 1975 to 2018 (in millions). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: February 19, 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/187577/housing-units-occupied-by-renter-in-the-us-since-1975/
US Department of Housing and Urban Development. "Number of Renter Occupied Housing Units in The United States from 1975 to 2018 (in Millions)." Statista, Statista Inc., 31 Mar 2019, https://www.statista.com/statistics/187577/housing-units-occupied-by-renter-in-the-us-since-1975/
US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Number of renter occupied housing units in the United States from 1975 to 2018 (in millions) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/187577/housing-units-occupied-by-renter-in-the-us-since-1975/ (last visited February 19, 2020)
We use cookies to personalize contents and ads, offer social media features, and analyze access to our website. In your browser settings you can configure or disable this, respectively, and can delete any already placed cookies. For details, please see your browser’s Help section (by pressing F1). Please see our privacy statement for details about how we use data.
