More millionaires are choosing to rent in Philadelphia.

In 2023, 102 households making $1 million or more annually chose to rent in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, according to a new report from rental listing website RentCafe. That’s up from 22 in 2019.

Across the country, millionaire tenants are attracted to the ease offered by turnkey rental properties with amenities, the report indicates, among other reasons.

From 2019 to 2023 the number of millionaire households renting grew from 4,500 to 13,700 across the country. While generally the term “millionaire” refers to anyone with at least $1 million in net worth, RentCafe looked at a smaller population of households that bring in at least $1 million annually.

“In a stunning reversal of traditional wealth patterns, millionaire renters have tripled since 2019, outpacing their homeowning counterparts in one of real estate’s most unexpected trends,” the report reads.

Still, homeownership overall is more popular among Philly-area millionaires, 1,831 of whom own homes in the region.

New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles have the most millionaire renters — and high numbers of millionaire homeowners.

Across U.S. metros, Philadelphia has the 17th most millionaire renters.

The data used in the report is from the IPUMS database which is part of the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation at the University of Minnesota and sources from census and survey results.

Across the country, while the number of millionaires purchasing homes far surpasses the number of those who chose to rent, the growth of rentership in this group has outpaced that of homeownership in recent years, the report indicates.

And both groups have grown significantly — renters by 204% and homeowners by 169%.

Millionaires choose to rent

For millionaires in Philadelphia, the city has a variety of new high-end apartment offerings for tenants willing to pay the price.

The renovation of the Bellevue has added new luxury apartments to Broad Street, where rent for a one-bedroom starts at $3,000 a month for 567 square feet, and a 986-square-foot two-bedroom goes for $4,625.

At One Thousand One, a development on Broad Street and Washington Avenue, a one-bedroom apartment ranges from $2,463 for a 640-square-foot space to $5,165 for 1,140 square feet, according to the current building listing.

A new residential tower with high-end units at 210 S. 12th St., offers studios starting at $1,675 and $3,579 for two-bedrooms, The Inquirer reported last year.

In Philadelphia, the median apartment rent was $1,948 a month in spring 2024. The majority of renters in the area don’t make enough to afford it.

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