Austin soars among 10 hottest U.S. metros for millennial homebuyers

From being named the No. 1 millennial magnet in 2024 to barely hanging on among the top 10 last year, Austin has had a rocky relationship with its millennial residents in recent years. But a new report has reestablished Austin as one of the 10 hottest destinations for millennials, whose local homeownership rate has soared more than 100 percent since 2018.

The number of millennials who own their homes in Austin has grown from 83,918 to 176,981 households over the last five years (110.9 percent), according to a new housing analysis from RentCafe.

The study compared homeowner growth rates versus renter growth rates of millennials — based on Pew Research Center's definition as individuals born between 1981 and 1996 — across 107 U.S. metro areas from 2018 to 2023.

Austin ranked No. 7 in the overall list of U.S. metros that have seen the highest increase in millennial homeowners since 2018. Nearly 47 percent of all Austin-area millennials own their homes, with the remaining 53 percent renting, the report found.

Austin similarly ranked No. 7 in the national list of cities with the biggest growth rates among millennial-age renters. The number of millennial renter households jumped from 163,855 to 201,655 in five years, a 23.1 percent hike.

"While these increases may be driven, in part, by younger millennials relocating for professional opportunities, [Austin, New York, and San Jose] are already well-established renter hubs with more than half of their millennial populations renting," the report said.

About 5.3 million millennials have become homeowners over the last five years nationwide, RentCafe's analysts said, which represents a massive 74 percent increase in millennial-owned households. The growth rate of renters was much smaller in comparison.

"At the same time, the number of millennial renters in the U.S. rose by a modest 5 percent, adding approximately 600,000 households," RentCafe said. "This brings the total number of millennial homeowner households to 12.4 million, close to the 12.6 million millennial renter households."

While the rate of millennial homeowners is on the rise, the same can't be said for Gen Zers. Less than 10 percent of all Gen Z households in Austin own their homes, while the vast majority are renters, a separate RentCafe study found.

The top 10 U.S. metros with the highest gains in millennial homeowners are:

• No. 1 – North Port, Florida
• No. 2 – Lakeland, Florida
• No. 3 – Jacksonville, Florida
• No. 4 – Stockton, California
• No. 5 – Oxnard, California
• No. 6 – Palm Bay, Florida
• No. 7 – Austin, Texas
• No. 8 – Tuscon, Arizona
• No. 9 – Deltona, Florida
• No. 10 – San Antonio, Texas