{"id":69940,"date":"2015-01-29T17:10:48","date_gmt":"2015-01-30T00:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=69940"},"modified":"2026-11-02T16:33:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T23:33:47","slug":"2015-01-29-revealedtop-20-u-smarkets-highest-rental-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2015-01-29-revealedtop-20-u-smarkets-highest-rental-returns","title":{"rendered":"Revealed: The Top 20 U.S. Markets With the Highest Rental Returns"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a wide-ranging report<\/a> released today, RealtyTrac takes a look at the state of rental\u00a0markets across the country. Covering the hottest\u00a0markets for renting to Millennials, Generation Xers and Baby Boomers, the study ranks the best markets for purchasing residential\u00a0properties for buy and hold purposes in the first quarter of 2015. The study also relays findings on which markets have seen the biggest increases in rental rates from last year.<\/p>\n

To find the nation’s best rental markets, RealtyTrac took into account median sales prices for single family homes and condos, along with average fair market rents for 3-bedroom properties. They analyzed 516 counties across the U.S.<\/p>\n

Here’s what their data revealed.<\/p>\n

The Top 20 Markets for Rental Returns<\/h2>\n

20. Rockford, IL<\/strong> (Winnebago Co.) — 15.17% Annual Gross Yield<\/p>\n

19. Homosassa Springs, FL<\/strong> (Citrus Co.) — 15.30%<\/p>\n

18. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY<\/strong> (Niagara Co.) — 15.30%<\/p>\n

17. Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI<\/strong> (Muskegon Co.) — 15.34%<\/p>\n

16. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA<\/strong> (Trumbull Co.) — 15.52%<\/p>\n

15. Mobile, AL<\/strong> (Mobile Co.) — 15.83%<\/p>\n

14. East Stroudsburg, PA<\/strong> (Monroe Co.) — 15.86%<\/p>\n

13. Anderson, IN<\/strong> (Madison Co.) — 16.41%<\/p>\n

12. Ocala, FL<\/strong> (Marion Co.) — 16.88%<\/p>\n

11. Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC<\/strong> — 16.97%<\/p>\n

10. Kansas City, MO-KS<\/strong> (Wyandotte Co.) — 17.60%<\/p>\n

9. Syracuse, NY<\/strong> (Oswego Co.) — 17.81%<\/p>\n

8. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL<\/strong> (Hernando Co.) — 17.86%<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL<\/strong> (Pasco Co.) — 17.86%<\/p>\n

6. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD<\/strong> (Philadelphia Co.) — 18.78%<\/p>\n

5. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI<\/strong> (Wayne Co.) — 19.34%<\/p>\n

4. Richmond, VA<\/strong> (Richmond Co.) — 20.42%<\/p>\n

3. Baltimore-Towson, MD<\/strong> (Baltimore Co.) — 20.99%<\/p>\n

2. Macon, GA<\/strong> (Bibb Co.) — 22.33%<\/p>\n

1. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA<\/strong> (Clayton Co.) — 25.83%<\/p>\n

Said RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist regarding the information,\u00a0\u201cWith homeownership rates at their lowest level in 20 years, historically low levels of housing starts and relatively low home prices in many parts of the country, there is still plenty of opportunity in the U.S. housing market for single family rental investors employing a variety of investing strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>
via: RealtyShares<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The report also went into detail, analyzing which housing markets were best for renting to demographics of various age groups.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong> 5.8 Million Homeowners No Longer Underwater \u2013 But Not All Markets Rebound<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The 50 Best Markets for Renting to Millennials<\/h2>\n

The best markets to rent to Millennials, or those with a gross annual rental yield of at least 9 percent with a percentage of Millennials above the national average of 22 percent and where the population of this demographic increased at least 5 percent between 2007 and 2013, included Baltimore, MD; Richmond, VA; and Philadelphia County, PA.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>
via: RealtyTrac<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The 20 Best Markets for Renting to\u00a0Gen Xers<\/h2>\n

The best Gen X markets were defined as those with a gross annual rental yield of at least 9 percent with a percentage of this demographic higher than the national average of 16 percent and where the Gen X population increased at least 5 percent between 2007 and 2013. The areas that best fit this criteria include counties in Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Jacksonville, FL; Little Rock, AR; and Orlando metro areas.<\/p>\n

\"via:<\/a>
via: RealtyTrac<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The 40 Best Markets for Renting to Baby Boomers<\/h2>\n

Similarly, the highest ranking Baby Boomer markets were determined by those with a gross annual rental yield of 9 percent or higher with a share of Baby Boomers above the national average of 25 percent with at least a 5 percent increase in population between 2007 and 2013. The U.S. areas that won out in this category include counties in Tampa; Ocala, FL; East Stroudsburg, PA; Homosassa Springs, FL; and Binghamton, NY metro areas.<\/p>\n

\"via:<\/a>
via: RealtyTrac<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Biggest Rent Increases<\/h2>\n

The study found that fair market rents on 3-bedroom properties increased more than 10 percent in 35 counties of those analyzed. The biggest jumps occurred in the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Midland, TX (up 24%)<\/li>\n
  • Denver, CO (up 20%)<\/li>\n
  • Asheville, NC (up 19%)<\/li>\n
  • Roseburg, OR (up 18%)<\/li>\n
  • Seaford, DE (up 18%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Related:<\/strong> The Pivotal Factor You Probably Don\u2019t Know to Watch for in a Rental Market<\/em><\/p>\n

    What Does This Mean for Investors?<\/h2>\n

    \u201cWhether focusing on markets where homeownership-shy Millennials are migrating, markets where recovering Gen X homeowners-turned-renters are prevalent, or markets Baby Boomers are testing for retirement, investors can find good options with solid potential rental returns,” said Blomquist.<\/p>\n

    He added,\u00a0\u201cThere are certainly markets where buying single family rentals no longer makes sense because of rapidly rising prices over the past few years. Savvy single family rental investors will tread cautiously in such markets despite the siren song of strong home price appreciation.\u201d<\/p>\n

    What do you think, investors?<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Is there a specific demographic you gear your rentals towards?<\/em><\/li>\n
    • Do you agree with the methodology of this study?<\/em><\/li>\n
    • Have you found that these trends ring true in your local market?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Leave a comment below, and let’s talk data & demographics!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      In a wide-ranging report released today, RealtyTrac takes a look at the state of rental\u00a0markets across the country. Covering the hottest\u00a0markets for renting to Millennials, Generation Xers and Baby Boomers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1682,"featured_media":69952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5528],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-news"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1682"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69940"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190310,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69940\/revisions\/190310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}