A new study from Apartment List finds that of all the metros studied, Denver had the biggest percentage increase in the number of renter households with annual income of $100,000 or more.
These renter households grew 146 percent from 2008 to 2017, nearly 100 percent more than the national increase of 48 percent. Nancy Burke, VP of government affairs with the Apartment Association of Metro Denver, tells The Denver Post, “I do believe the American Dream is evolving. It no longer is about owning the single-family home with a white-picket fence. It is about flexibility and being able to pick up and move."
Much of the new housing supply this decade has come in multi-family and much of that has come in denser urban neighborhoods where Millennials, and increasingly retiring Baby Boomers, are gravitating toward, said Igor Popov, chief economist with Apartment List.
“There is more rental supply for high earners today, especially in places like Denver,” he said. “People with higher incomes are clustering more in city centers than they used to. They are preferring to be closer to the action. We are seeing higher earners locating in downtowns.”