Though ownership remains the norm, renting is gaining ground among the wealthy, according to RentCafe’s latest report. Between 2019 and 2023, millionaire renter households have more than tripled (up 200%) compared to a still-impressive 170% rise in millionaire homeowners during the same period.

Where are the rich headed? Large metros in Texas and Florida are seeing the biggest surge in millionaire renters, signaling a shift away traditional strongholds like New York and San Francisco.

Here are more highlights from our analysis:

The biggest spikes in millionaire renters are happening where you’d least expect it.

• In Houston, the number of millionaire renter households jumped from just 7 in 2019 to 179 in 2023.

• Dallas also saw a sharp surge in millionaire renter households, from 14 to 185 within the same timeframe.

• Miami’s wealthy renter households grew more than 11 times, while the count of high-income renters in Atlanta became 10 times higher.

Brand-new millionaire hubs are popping up fast, especially in the South. Places that once had zero millionaire renters are now buzzing with wealthy renters.

• Charleston, NC saw its millionaire renter households increase from zero to 206 households between 2019 and 2023.

• Oxnard, CA, and Florida’s Jacksonville and Orlando have all seen their first waves of rich renters, each now counting 50 to 90 millionaire households.

Meanwhile, several major metros now stand out as magnets for the nation’s wealthiest renters:

• New York City now has 5,661 millionaire households, more than twice as many as in 2019. 

• San Francisco isn’t far behind, with a total of 1,411 after tripling its count of millionaire renters in just five years.

• Los Angeles and San Jose each saw their number of millionaire renter households triple between 2019 and 2023, reaching 823 and 577 households, respectively.