For many people, owning a home still marks the first step towards financial independence, as real estate is considered one of the best long-term investments.
And while there are some viable, non-money related reasons why some people choose to rent a home instead of buying – e.g. greater flexibility and fewer responsibilities – most of the current renters surveyed by Gallup earlier this year cite financial reasons for their decision to rent.
As Statista's Felix Richter shows in the chart below, 68 percent of renters said they simply can’t afford to buy a home or put down a large down payment, which is not a surprise given the unfavorable mix of high prices and high mortgage rates we’re currently seeing.
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That’s up significantly from 2023, when just 45 percent of renters said they couldn’t afford to buy.
Convenience and easier maintenance were the second most cited reasons to rent in 2025, albeit far behind affordability at just 11 percent of respondents.
The state of the housing market/the economy, bad credit and lack of financial stability followed at 9 and 6 percent of respondents, respectively.
