The frequently told story that younger people often rent these days because they want the flexibility and freedom to avoid maintenance issues and move as the winds take them has sounded somewhat contrived. How many people with the full financial ability to buy a home when prices and mortgages are high really choose to rent?

The Wall Street Journal said there are more than you might think, at least if you include the relatively small but growing number of millionaires who rent by choice. Analyzing data from IPUMS at the University of Minnesota, the paper said that between 2013 and 2017, the number of households with more than $750,000 in income that rented was 8.4%. That grew to 10.5% from 2018 through 2022.

Using data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, the Journal also calculated that households with a top 5% net worth have seen 5% who rent, a number that has doubled over the last 15 years.