Renters

This new breed of renters challenges long-held assumptions that Americans rent a place to live primarily because they can't afford to buy a home.

A new apartment building on Mission Street in San Francisco, one of 20 U.S. cities with the most significant increase in the number of wealthy renters.

Business and technology hubs like San Francisco and Seattle have the highest numbers of wealthy renters.

In fact, in both San Francisco and New York, wealthy renters outnumber well-to-do buyers.

There are more high-earning renters — 250,000 — in New York City than anywhere else in the country.

I am now a member of the local association of renters.

Renters are feeling the squeeze because the COVID-19 pandemic caused supply chain issues, slowing down home building in the United States.

By contrast, the number of renters between the ages of 35 and 59 grew just 17 percent during the same time period, and the number of renters under the age of 34 increased 7 percent, according to apartment search website RENTCafe, which conducted the analysis focusing on cities with populations of at least 100,000.