Net Worth For Property Owners 38 Times Greater Than Tenants

According to a recent report from the Aspen Institute,  the median net worth of a homeowner in the United States is $400,000, while a renters net worth is $10,400.

Over one-third (34.7 percent) of U.S. households are renters.

While the report didn’t provide a median net worth of duplex owners, it did report that 17.5 percent of all renter households live in a duplex, triplex, or fourplex.

Property ownership alone didn’t account for the higher net worth. In fact, 78% of those who own rather than rent have other appreciating assets (like stocks) compared to just 48% of tenants who do.

This is the result of financial instability among tenants. Just 39% of renters have income greater than their monthly household spending, compared with 54% of property owners who do.

The median age for tenants in the United States is 42; younger than the nation as a whole’s median age of 48, and homeowner’s median age of 57.

Disparity can also be found in median income. While a U.S. adult typically has a median income of $74,580, and a homeowner one of $92,310, tenants’ income trails far behind at $49,201.

According to data included in the study from The Eviction Lab, 7 million people face eviction and 6 out of every 100 tenant households are threatened with eviction every year.

Just over half of the nations tenants (54.4%) are women.

Until either tenants income increases,  here is a greater supply of affordable housing, or wealth-building opportunities for many renter households may remain challenging.