The number of millionaire renters and homeowners in the U.S. has surged over the last five years, and Dallas has cracked the top 10 metros with the largest growth rates among these affluent renter households.
Nationwide, the number of millionaire renter households grew 229 percent from 2020 to 2024, far outpacing the 193 percent growth rate among millionaire homeowners, a new RentCafe study found.
In Dallas, the number of millionaire renter households has more than quintupled, from just 30 in 2020 to 165 in 2024. That represents a renter growth rate of 450 percent, which - surprisingly - is only the 8th highest nationwide.
Houston leads the nation with the No. 1 increase in millionaire renters. The number of these wealthy households increased from 18 to 232 over the last five years, representing an impressive 1,189 percent growth rate.
The top 10 U.S. metros with the biggest surge in millionaire renters are:
- No. 1 – Houston
- No. 2 – Naples, Florida
- No. 3 – Miami
- No. 4 – Seattle
- No. 5 – Los Angeles
- No. 6 – Denver
- No. 7 – St. Louis, Missouri
- No. 8 – Dallas
- No. 9 – Boston
- No. 10 – Phoenix
But when it comes to the largest populations of millionaire renters, New York City and San Francisco still lead the way. New York claimed the No. 1 spot with nearly 7,300 millionaire renters living in the city in 2024. Dallas ranked 17th on that list.
Elsewhere in Texas, Houston and Austin ranked as the 12th and 16th, respectively, for the largest population of millionaire renters. There were 232 millionaire renters living in Houston in 2024, and 206 in Austin.
This is who the typical millionaire renter is
The report also revealed a surprising statistic about the typical millionaire renter in the U.S. — a lot of them are millennials working in "white-collar, high-earning fields."
"Nearly half (49 percent) of millionaire renters are Millennials, and the number of affluent Millennial renter households surged 392 percent during the five-year period," the report said. "Gen X follows with 33 percent of millionaire Gen X households renting after increasing by 147 percent."
The report continued, "Although Gen Z still represents a small share of millionaire renters (just 2 percent of the total), no generation has expanded faster: Gen Z millionaire renter households leaped from fewer than a dozen to more than 400 — a tiny cohort today, but one that was virtually nonexistent five years ago."
The top three most common professions for millionaire renters are chief executives, software developers, and managers, the report additionally found.
"These roles tend to generate steady, substantial income without necessarily tying workers to one location, making renting a practical fit, rather than a financial necessity," the report said.
Hotspots for millionaire homeowners
In RentCafe's separate list comparing the top 10 most popular U.S. metros for millionaire homeowners, Dallas ranked 10th nationally with 4,731 millioniare homeowners living in the metro as of 2024. These wealthy Dallas residents are most likely working as chief executives, physicians, managers, and lawyers and judges.
Dallas has already proven to be a hotspot for millennial homebuyers, and the latest RentCafe data says millennials make up 19 percent of all millionaire homeowners in the U.S. Gen Xers and Baby Boomers still maintain the largest shares of millionaire homeowners nationwide, at 45 and 33 percent, respectively.
Houston (No. 12) and Austin (No. 20) appeared further down the list among the hottest metros for millionaire homeowners.
Only one Texas city appeared among RentCafe's list of the 20 fastest-growing metros for millionaire homeowners: College Station ranked 13th nationwide with a growth rate of 1,329 percent. From 2020-2024, the number of millionaire homeowners residing in College Station grew from 14 to 200.
