Shared living arrangements offer financial advantages for all ages

The word roommate may evoke images of college students or young professionals just out of school sharing cramped quarters to save money until they either significantly increase their earnings, save enough to afford other arrangements, or get married.  

Today’s economic realities are driving adults at all stages of life to share an apartment, and the currently available accommodations are making the arrangement more desirable, according to StorageCafe.com, which conducted a study of the country’s 100 largest cities across various factors, including roommate prevalence and availability; financial advantages of living with a roommate compared to living on one’s own; livability and amenities, including personal space per person living in a roommate household; and availability of storing options.  

Living with roommates spans every generation now, the research indicates. Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, accounts for the largest share of roommate households—about 46 percent or 2.55 million nationally. “That aligns with life stage realities: early career salaries, student loan payments, job mobility, and a desire to live in urban cores where rents are higher. Sharing housing makes it possible to enter competitive markets without sacrificing location,” the report states. 

Roommate living arrangements are no longer confined to young adults, the research indicates. Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, represent 34 percent (1.9 million) of renter households shared by roommates. “For this group, shared living often reflects a different calculation: navigating high rents in family-friendly metros or rebuilding savings after pandemic-era disruptions. Meanwhile, 11 percent of roommate households are headed by Generation X members. For them, roommates can be tied to life transitions such as divorce or downsizing or simply a pragmatic approach to rising household costs later in life,” the research report states. 

The StorageCafe.com research found that the Atlanta area is the second most desirable metro area for roommate arrangements. Atlanta’s rental stock is overwhelmingly configured for sharing — more than 83 percent of units have two or more bedrooms, nearly all with pools, fitness centers and clubhouses. And with 75 restaurants, performance venues and entertainment establishments per 10,000 residents, Atlanta ranks third nationally for lifestyle access — behind only Orlando and Miami. 

The number of shared renter households in Atlanta has grown nearly 60 percent in the past decade—from around 13,500 to more than 21,600. “That’s no blip,” the report states, “It tracks with the wave of young professionals and corporate relocations that reshaped the city’s rental market, and it shows no signs of slowing. Atlanta now ranks sixth nationally for roommate-related online searches, meaning the demand pipeline is still active.”  

The report further notes, “Roommates average 535 square feet of personal space each — third highest among all 100 cities analyzed — while saving nearly $8,900 a year compared to renting a one-bedroom alone. That’s a combination most cities that rank high on savings can’t match, and most that rank high on space can’t match savings.” 

That combination helps explain why Atlanta, where 17 percent of apartment rentals are roommate arrangements, ranks No. 2 overall. The city didn’t just attract roommates, according to the report, it gave them somewhere worth living. “Space is generous by big-city standard,” the report notes. 

The average of $8,900 a year that each tenant saves, compared to what each would spend renting a one-bedroom alone, can help fund a down payment for those ultimately planning to buy a house; can fund an emergency savings cushion; can help pay down high-interest debt, including student loans, the report points out.   

In recent years, housing developments around Atlanta are being built with square footage and floor plans that allow people who do not necessarily have family or intimate ties to live comfortably in the same apartment. An online search revealed more than 350 such developments in DeKalb County.