Singles Choose to Buy Over Rent Most in These Cities

SmartAsset found that for every 10 households in the U.S., two of them are a one-person household. By analyzing the 2018 Census Bureau data, SmartAsset ranked the top 25 cities where singles choose homebuying over renting. This was done by analyzing the single homeownership rate in 2014 and 2018 in the top 100 metros. The data found that the mass majority of single households are in the Southern and Western regions. In the top 10 alone, Arizona steals three spots. Other popular states include California, Florida, and Texas. Did your city make the list? Read more to find out.

Key Findings
Arizona cities are a popular choice for individual homeowners. Three of the top 10 cities in the study are in Arizona – Gilbert, Mesa and Chandler. All three had a 2018 single homeownership rates of at least 53%. This means that more than half of individuals living alone own a house or apartment in those cities.

Southern and Western cities populate the top 10 and 25. The top 10 of our list is represented by only cities in the Southern and Western regions of the country, according to Census regional divisions. Moving to the top 25, we see that only three cities (St. Louis, Missouri and Chicago, Illinois in the Midwest and New York, New York in the Northeast) are not located in either of these regions.

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