As the oldest members of Gen Z are nearing their 30s and moving up in their careers, one question comes up: Where is this digitally native generation laying down roots?   And how many members of Gen Z in Phoenix are homeowners?

Our latest report reveals that young adults are drawn to places with good jobs and rising wages. However, this doesn’t always mean big coastal cities — new youth hubs in the West are also on this cohort’s radar.  

Phoenix stands out as one of the U.S. hubs where Gen Z entered the market the fastest. Today, nearly 1 in 5 Zoomers in The Valley is living the American Dream, amounting to more than 25,000 homes. But that’s not all — the number of households where Gen Z rent has surpassed 100,000 in the same time frame. 

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Here are the details: 

  • The number of Gen Z adults who own a home in Phoenix surged from 3,171 to 25,160 in just five years, marking a whopping 693% increase.   
  • At the same time, the number of Gen Z rental households in Phoenix rose by 542% in recent years — from 16,723 to 107,307. 
  • In short, 81% of Phoenix’s Gen Z residents rent and 18.99% are owners — the 44th highest share of young homeowners in the nation. 

Tech-savvy, connected, and financially conscious, Gen Z is stepping into the housing market with confidence — and reshaping it in the process. In just five years, the number of young renters reached 4.4 million from just 700,000, marking a sixfold surge that’s redefining hotspots from Birmingham, AL, to San Jose, CA.

While most young adults still rent, the number of homebuyers in their 20s is rising at a faster pace, even though they still represent fewer than 1 million households. In fact, only 17% of Gen Zers own a home, far behind Millennials who first transitioned to owner-majority back in 2022.

To understand where these young adults prefer to rent or buy, we analyzed 97 U.S. metro areas with at least 15,000 Gen Z households and highlighted the locations with the biggest gains.

Key takeaways:

  • Gen Z renters increased sixfold in five years, adding 3.7 million households nationwide.
  • Southern metros are leading the growth with Birmingham AL, at the top after a thirteenfold increase.
  • Coastal cities continue to claim the highest concentrations with San Jose, CA, leading at a 95% share of Gen Z renters.
  • Gen Z homeownership remains limited at just 17% and is growing fastest in affordable, mid-sized markets.
  • Ogden, UT, has the highest share of Gen Z homeowners with 41% of Gen Z households owning their homes.