Renters outnumber owners in Atlanta suburbs
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Clarkston and College Park are high on the list of suburbs with the most renter households, according to Census Bureau data.
Why it matters: Housing affordability and changing demographics are transforming suburban life.
By the numbers: Renters now outnumber homeowners in 203 suburbs of the 20 most populous U.S. metros, per the analysis by rental listing site Point2Homes.
- In 15 suburbs, the number of renter households more than doubled between 2018 and 2023.
- 104 suburbs gained over 1,000 renter households in that period.
Zoom in: Clarkston, a refugee resettlement hub often called the most ethnically diverse square mile in America, had the eighth highest share of household renters in 2023.
- College Park's proximity to Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport made it desirable for apartments. 78% of the city's households are renters.
- In addition, the city has tried to slow the increase of "build-to-rent" housing — think subdivisions with single-family homes for lease and owned by the developer.
Stunning stat: Atlanta is among the top three metro areas for communities of built-to-rent single-family homes, according to a 2024 RentCafe study.
The intrigue: In Dallas, Minneapolis, Boston, Baltimore and Tampa, Florida, suburbs are gaining renters faster than the city proper.
The big picture: Renting in the suburbs can offer more space for young families and maintenance-free living for empty nesters.
- Amenity-packed rental home communities have moved into the Sunbelt and other regions over the past few years as home prices soared.
- On average, renting is cheaper than buying a home in all 50 of the largest U.S. metros, Bankrate research shows.
Yes, but: Metro Atlanta suburbs boomed because of the automobile during a post-war period of economic prosperity.
- Few have sufficient transit, community services or programs for people living on low incomes.
- Today, children living in southside metro Atlanta counties have lower opportunities than their peers on the north side of the region.
What they're saying: "Sometimes the issues that are important to our homeowners fall lower on the priority scale for our renter community," College Park Mayor Bianca Motley Broom told Axios. "So we have to recognize that and meet everyone where they are."
- City officials must often put three times the effort into public outreach to inform renters, she said, and code enforcement is a much more "integral part of the daily strategy of meeting the needs of your residents."
The bottom line: "Suburban living is no longer reserved for those with a mortgage," Point2Homes' Andra Hopulele wrote in the report.