For many people in the United States, the American dream of owning a house in the suburbs is beyond their reach. According to an analysis published in March by The National Association of Home Builders, 74.9% of U.S. households were unable to afford a median-priced new home costing $459,826 and a 30-year mortgage rate of 6.5% in 2025. Facing that reality, more Americans, many of them in New Jersey, are renting rather than owning a place in the suburbs.
A Point2Homes study using U.S. Census data reported that 203 U.S. suburbs with a population above 10,000 people are now renter-majority. Of the 203 suburbs listed, 39 are in New Jersey. Among the 20 towns with the highest percentage of renters are: Harrison (81.1% renter households); Union City (79.6%); West New York (78.2%); Passaic (76.5%); and Elizabeth (74.6%).
Of the 15 suburbs that switched to renter majority from 2018 to 2023, four are from New Jersey, more than any other state among the first 15. Bound Brook led all U.S. urban hubs in shifting to 58.2% renter majority from 49.9%. North Arlington was fifth (53.6% from 47.9%); East Franklin was eighth (52.1% from 42.4%); and Secaucus was 13th (50.7% from 44.2%).
Of the 103 suburbs that gained more than 1,000 renter households in the last five years, 15 of them are from New Jersey. Elizabeth and Paterson each added more than 3,500 renter households during the same period, the sixth and seventh places on the list, respectively.
In the broader context, the rise of the renter suburb is more than just the inability of some Americans to buy a home. It’s a cultural shift on how Americans, particularly Millennials and Gen Zers, think about housing. For some younger Americans, the housing crisis of 2008 was a jarring experience, even if they were not homeowners. Choosing to rent also reflects lifestyle trends such as working from home that were happening before the pandemic.
Soaring rental costs in cities have also forced younger people to rent in the suburbs. In New Jersey, rent-only apartments have sprung up in towns and cities adjacent to train stations. In Union Township and midtown Elizabeth, the development of apartment buildings close to train stations has transformed the cityscape and brought in a new class of renters priced out of New York City and Hudson County.
