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10 Cities Where House Renters Are Staying Put Instead of Looking To Buy

March 1, 2025

3 min Read

Written by Vance Cariaga

Edited by Amber Barkley

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One of the cornerstones of the American dream is to own a home — and for a long time, it was a practical goal. But in the 21st century, skyrocketing home values and high mortgage rates have priced many Americans out of the market and convinced them that the better option is to keep on renting.

A growing number of Americans are choosing to stay in their rental homes for 10 years or more in response to high home prices and tight inventory, according to a new study from Point2Homes, a house rental search platform.

There’s no mystery as to why more renters are staying put. Over the last 20 years, median home sale prices have climbed over 80% — from $228,800 during the fourth quarter of 2004 to $419,200 during the fourth quarter of 2024, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. This decade alone, home prices have risen by about 28%.

Rental prices have risen at roughly the same rate over 10 years — from a national average of $1,185 in 2020 to an average of $1,521 in 2024, according to an iProperty Management analysis of U.S. government data. The difference is, when you rent a home, you don’t have to worry about making a down payment that can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars. And renters who opt for long-term leases can lock in the same rate year after year, even as home and rental prices continue to rise.

Here’s a look at 10 cities where house renters are staying put instead of looking to buy, according to Point2Homes.

Next, find out the cost of renting vs. owning in every state.