Zumper’s State Of Renting Report

Highlights from Zumper’s Annual State Of Renting Survey & Report:

• About 60% renters now spend 40% of their income on rent. Renters paying more than 28% of their income on rent has long been the benchmark for what owners, renters and lenders consider unaffordable.

• About 1 in 5 renters cite lowering the cost of living as one of the main drivers of a move this year, up from about 1 in 8 in 2021.

• Due to rising costs, only 66% of renters see buying a home as part of their long-term plans, down from 73% in 2021 (they consider themselves “forever renters”)

• The top five destinations renters relocated to in 2025 were: Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City, San Francisco, and Charlotte showing that renters are moving to job-dense cities.
• Only 12% of renters now work exclusively from home, half the rate seen during 2021-2023.

• 63% of respondents report a commute time of 30 minutes or less, and commute was the third most cited reason for deciding where to live.
• 82% of renters say they are unsure or not confident in the economy, and 66% believe the U.S. is currently in a recession. 
• AI usage during the rental search has more than doubled, with nearly 10% of renters saying they used tools like ChatGPT, rising as high as 15% in major coastal cities.

• The share of renters living with non-family, non-partner roommates continued its steady decline, dropping to 19% in 2025 from about 22% in 2022. This trend mirrors a broader cultural shift: singlehood in the U.S. has been rising for decades, reshaping household formation and what adulthood looks like for many Americans.

• About 50% of renters are pet owners
• Access to outdoor space has become increasingly important, with nearly 20% of renters naming it a top-three priority when choosing where to live, up from 16.5% in 2023.

Source: Zumper