Bridgeport, Hartford costly for Gen Z homeowners

Bridgeport and Hartford have been named as the nation’s metros with the 4th and 6th highest cost differences between home owning and renting for the Gen Z demographic, according to a new study by RentCafe. The study estimates that Bridgeport’s Gen Z homeowners would pay $95,891 more than renters in housing costs before the age of 30, while Hartford’s Gen Z homeowners would pay $87,919 more.

The study determined these estimates by analyzing historical housing costs as well as earning and spending patterns across 197 American metros. It found that between the ages of 22 to 29, Gen Z will earn $550,000 on average. Gen Z renters are expected to pay an average of $145,000 on housing during this span, while Gen Z homeowners can expect to pay $165,000, a 14% difference.

Altogether, Bridgeport was estimated to be the 10th costliest metro in the country for Gen Z renters, behind Washington, D.C. and the 5th most expensive for Gen Z homeowners, behind San Diego, CA. While Hartford did not make the top 20 most expensive renting markets, it did clock in as the 18th most expensive home owning market for Gen Z, behind Denver, CO. Gen Z renters in Bridgeport can expect to pay an average of $209,658 in rent between the ages of 22-29, while Gen Z homeowners can expect to pay $305,549. Gen Z renters in Hartford will pay an average of $141,274 in that time span, while homeowners would pay $229,193.

The study found that while Gen Z is earning 14% more than Millennials did from the ages of 22 to 29, the average amount of money Gen Zers will pay in rent also rose 14% higher. Like Millennials did before them, Gen Z can expect to pay 27% of their income towards rent.

Despite the study having found homeownership to be more costly than renting, it also found it to be more affordable to Gen Zers than it was to Millennials. Homeownership costs would account for 30% of Gen Z’s average income before the age of 30, while it accounted for 36% of Millennials, whose homeowners paid an average of $172,000 on housing costs in their twenties.

Although the national averages favors Gen Z homeowners more than their Millennial counterparts, it does not hold true for Hartford’s Gen Z. The study found they are making an average of $22,500 less than Hartford Millennials did in their twenties, while the average cost of homeownership has risen by $17,323. Hartford Gen Z is expected to make 4% less than their Millennial counterparts did in their 20’s, while experiencing 6% higher home owning costs.

Hartford Gen Z’s percentage of income spent on renting holds steady with the national standard, at 27%. However, its Gen Z homeowners would pay significantly more on housing costs than the national average, at 44% of their income.

The housing market has grown more difficult for Bridgeport’s Gen Z population as well. While Gen Z is expected to earn 9% more than their Millennial counterparts in Bridgeport, they are also expected to pay 3% more of their income on rent than Millennials did in their twenties. Bridgeport Millennials paid an average of 25% of their income on rent, while Bridgeport Gen Z is expected to pay 28% of theirs. The city’s Millennial homeowners paid an average of 39% of their income on housing, while Gen Z homeowners will pay an average of 41% of theirs.

RentCafe’s research team based the study off of recent IPUMS data. According to their website , IPUMS is the world’s largest accessible database of census micro-data. It collects its data from numerous federal agencies such as the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The study defines rent costs as including gross monthly rental costs of apartments as well as including additional costs for utilities. It defines owning costs as the sum of payments required for property debts (mortgages, deeds of trust, contracts to purchase, home equity loans, etc.), real estate taxes, insurance, and utilities. Down payments were not included in owning costs, and household income is defined as income earned by all household members.

The post Bridgeport, Hartford costly for Gen Z homeowners appeared first on Connecticut Inside Investigator .