WORCESTER, MA– Worcester is the city with the most young apartment dwellers in Massachusetts, according to a new study by RENTCafe.
With 21% of its residents being Gen Zs, Worcester is the city with the most young apartment dwellers in Massachusetts. Compared to 2019 (13%), their share went up 8 points.
Following closely, Framingham and Cambridge have the 2nd and 3rd largest communities of Gen Z renters in the state with 19% and 18%, respectively, according to RENTCafe. In Boston, 13% of renters belong to the younger generation.
As Gen Z became the second most important player on the rental market in 2020, some cities saw spectacular increases in rental applications from the youngest generation of apartment dwellers.
According to the most recent national apartment application data, the share of Gen Z renters jumped by 36% in 2020 compared to the prior year. At the same time, the number of apartment applicants from every other generation decreased. So, to identify what types of locations Gen Z prefers, RENTCafe ranked cities by the highest share of applications for rent from this age group, as well as the highest year-over-year increase in Gen Z applicants.
Surprisingly, the trending locations preferred by Gen Z are small towns in the heartland, in the Midwest as well as in parts of the South, favored not only for being more affordable, but also for offering a vibrant local scene that feels authentic and closer to home for these young adults who are starting out in life in times of great uncertainty and change.
Of the roughly 3 million renter applications analyzed as part of this study, 22% were from applicants born after 1997 — also known as Generation Z, the oldest of which turned 23 in 2020. This youngest generation to enter apartment life claimed the second-largest share of the rental market in 2020. They were outnumbered only by Millennials (Slide 2), who continue to represent the largest share of renters in the U.S. with 48% of rental applications as of the end of 2020. Meanwhile, Gen X apartment-dwellers trail behind Gen Z, claiming only 18% of rental applications last year.
In 2020, some cities saw sharp increases in their shares of Gen Z renters, earning marks for the trendiest spots for young renters. In fact, in 18 of the top 20 trending locations for Gen Z renters, the share of rental applications submitted increased by at least 50% throughout the course of just one year.
To read the original article in RENTCafe, please click here.
