Let's face it: If you're single, living alone is probably preferable to living with roommates. Millions of Americans agree, and the numbers keep rising every year. There are more than 16.7 million people living alone in the U.S. as of 2021, and Austin has the third-highest share of solo renters out of all major metro areas, according to a new renter population study by RentCafe.

In 2016, fewer than 115,000 renters in Austin were living by themselves, the study said. By 2021, that number grew by 23.9 percent to 141,923 solo renters in 2021. Solo renters make up 18 percent of the total population in the Texas capital.

"And, with [Austin's] booming tech industry, many professionals in 'Silicon Hills' enjoy the convenience of renting alone," the report said.

However, as many solo-living Austinites will confirm, the unfortunate trade-off for the luxury of living alone is having to endure higher rent prices, making it harder to comfortably afford a home.

The report further explains that Salt Lake City, Utah, was the U.S. city with the highest growth rate of solo renters within the five-year span (25 percent). Although Lone Star cities still dominated the top 10, there was one city that slightly outdid Austin (and the rest of the state) with the greatest percentage of renters living alone: the Rio Grande Valley city of McAllen.

"[McAllen] attracts renters with its extremely reasonable cost of living, affordable housing, and growing economy," the report said. "Here, the share of lone renters grew 24.2 percent to a total of 19,579 in 2021, or 8 percent of the metro’s renter population."

Climbing through the ranks into No. 4 was San Antonio, with a 22 percent growth rate. More than 103,000 renters were living alone in 2016, and by 2021 the figure sat at 125,639.

The top 10 cities with the highest growth of renters living by themselves between 2016-2021 are:

• No. 1 – Salt Lake City, Utah
• No. 2 – McAllen, Texas
• No. 3 – Austin, Texas
• No. 4 – San Antonio, Texas
• No. 5 – Charlotte, North Carolina
• No. 6 – Fresno, California
• No. 7 – Jacksonville, Florida
• No. 8 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
• No. 9 – Dallas, Texas
• No. 10 – Raleigh, North Carolina

RentCafe analyzed data from Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) to determine their rankings for the top metros with the most solo renters.

The study further broke down the demographics of the solo renters living in the U.S., and revealed that baby boomers account for 32.4 percent of the total number of renters living alone in the country, or 5.3 million. Millennials aren't far behind; They make up just under 30 percent of solo renters. Gen X represents 21.3 percent, while 12.8 percent of solo renters are those who fall within the Silent Generation. Gen Z, the youngest generation, make up nearly 4 percent of renters living by themselves.

The full report can be found on rentcafe.com.