Arlington Ranks High Among Trendy Hotspots For Gen Z Renters: Study

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County ranks as the country’s sixth-trendiest place for members of Gen Z seeking to rent an apartment, according to a new study by RentCafe.

Arlington saw a 55 percent increase in the share of Gen Z, also known as Zoomers — the generation born after 1997 — who moved into a new apartment in 2021, the study found.

“Once known as a verified Millennial hub, Arlington is getting a much-needed glow-up from this up-and-coming generation of young renters,” RentCafe, a nationwide apartment listing service, said in the new study.

In 2021, more than a quarter of renters living in Arlington were Zoomers, up from 17 percent in 2020, according to the study.

Ahead of Arlington in the Gen Z renter rankings are San Francisco, Jersey City, New York City, Philadelphia and Boston. Behind Arlington are San Jose, Seattle, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

The City of Alexandria also ranked high in the trendiest Zoomer hotspots, coming in at 13th, according to the study. Alexandria saw a 37 percent jump in the share of apartment applications submitted by Gen renters.

The share of apartment applications submitted by Gen Z renters in Washington, D.C., increased by 31 percent from 2020 to 2021, lower than both Arlington and Alexandria, but still above the national average of 21 percent for the generation.

Gen Z is defined as the generation of people born between 1997 and 2012. Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996. Gen X was born between 1965 and 1980, and Baby Boomers and older are those who were born before 1965.

At 21 percent, Zoomers were the only generation to record an increase in renting activity in 2021. Gen X saw a 2 percent decrease in renting activity in 2021, while Baby Boomer renting activity decreased by 5 percent and Millennials saw an 8 percent decrease.

Millennials are now moving into home-buying mode, either buying condos or townhouses in D.C. or moving into the suburbs of Virginia to get a large place for their families, according to RentCafe. Many new homebuyers in Arlington are couples who lived in D.C. and recently had a child.