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Houston was recently ranked among the top-10 cities in the country for renter’s interests, attracting both suburban residents to its urban dwellings and renters who come from other cities.
Houston ranked fifth on a list of cities with the highest number of people coming to the area as renters from other locations, according to coverage by Storage Cafe. The majority – approximately 70% – come to Houston from other locations around Texas.
The city makes a popular destination for Texans from Katy, Spring and Sugar Land, but has also been attracting former Austin and San Antonio residents, according to Storage Cafe. And while 54% of renters moving into urban Houston are coming from urban areas, approximately 46% are former residents of suburbs.
Some of the motivation to move to Houston may be the city’s rapid recovery from the economic crisis created by COVID-19 restrictions, Storage Cafe reported. While the city’s unemployment rate hit 14% in April 2020, by the end of the year it had fallen back down to 8%.
Though unemployment has fluctuated up and down in recent months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed unemployment for Houston still at 8% for March. At the same time, the entire state showed steady declines in unemployment over the past several months, reaching 6.9% in March.
Another factor that may be playing a role is apartment size, according to Storage Cafe. Houston is ranked 11th in the nation among metro areas for average apartment size, with the average area apartment reaching 880 square feet.
Overall, preference for urban living among renters appears to be up, Storage Cafe reported. The number of renters preferring suburban living fell from 40% to 32% between 2016 and 2020, and the pandemic does not appear to have changed that trend.
Additionally, even those renters looking to move from urban areas tend to prefer urban areas for relocation, according to Storage Cafe. And the larger the city people are moving from, the higher their preference for city living appears to be.