New York, NY, May 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Roommate site SpareRoom today released a new report showing roommate culture is expanding beyond big metros amid housing affordability pressures. Based on an analysis of more than 16 million area searches in 2025 compared to the previous year, the report found roommates increasingly shifting their sights beyond major city centers and into suburban and relatively cheaper Sun Belt markets.
Some of the fastest-growing roommate searches were concentrated in regional metros and suburban communities including Fort Worth TX (+739%), Waco TX (+245%), Savannah, GA (+213%), Huntsville AL (+251%), Knoxville TN (+240%), Wilmington NC (+201%), Ocala FL (+192%), Stockton CA (+190%), and Visalia CA (+159%). The trend reflects renters expanding their searches well beyond traditional urban roommate hubs.
In Texas, rising costs in the Dallas–Fort Worth area are driving demand into suburban and commuter communities such as Rockwall (+145%), Tomball (+99%), Conroe (+97%) and Pearland (+94%), areas historically dominated by single-family homes.
A similar shift is taking place around Atlanta, where roommate searches are climbing in suburbs including Dunwoody (+201%), Brookhaven (+176%), Sandy Springs (+162%), Gwinnett County (+169%), and Cobb County (+152%).
In New York, roommate demand is increasingly moving outward from Manhattan into the outer boroughs such as the Bronx (+232%), Coney Island (+106%) and Long Island commuter markets such as Ronkonkoma (+128%) as renters trade proximity for lower housing costs.
California is also seeing an ‘escape valve’ effect, with roommate demand spilling out of Los Angeles and San Francisco into more affordable inland and suburban cities including Stockton (+190%), Visalia (+159%), Daly City (+103%), Castro Valley (+102%), Redwood City (+87%) and Santa Cruz (+94%).
Sharing is the most affordable way to rent, and yet even roommates are migrating away from pricier cities and downtown areas in a bid to reduce living costs. The lifestyle offered in the suburban Sun Belt area may also correspond with the rising number of people who find themselves sharing a home in their 40s, 50s and beyond, priced out of home ownership and renting solo.
The table below shows the area search terms that saw a higher-than-150% increase in searches by roommates between 2024 and 2025:
| Area search term | Difference 2025 vs 2024 |
| Fort Worth, TX | 739% |
| Columbia, SC | 282% |
| Macon, GA | 259% |
| Maricopa County, AZ | 252% |
| Huntsville, AL | 251% |
| Waco, TX | 245% |
| Longwood, FL | 242% |
| Knoxville, TN | 240% |
| Bronx, NY | 232% |
| Tyler, TX | 232% |
| Augusta, GA | 226% |
| Savannah, GA | 213% |
| Little Rock, AR | 208% |
| Wilmington, NC | 201% |
| Dunwoody, GA | 201% |
| Ocala, FL | 192% |
| Kansas City, KS | 191% |
| Stockton, CA | 190% |
| Fort Mill, SC | 182% |
| Lafayette, LA | 182% |
| North Charleston, SC | 180% |
| Brookhaven, GA | 176% |
| Mobile, AL | 171% |
| Gwinnett County, GA | 169% |
| Tallahassee, FL | 168% |
| Sandy Springs, GA | 162% |
| Visalia, CA | 159% |
| Douglasville, GA | 159% |
| Dayton, OH | 159% |
| Grand Rapids, MI | 159% |
| Martinez, CA | 153% |
| Cobb County, GA | 152% |
| Allentown, PA | 151% |
| San Marcos, TX | 151% |
Matt Hutchinson, director of roommate site SpareRoom, comments: “Area search data offers a good gauge of where the rental market is heading and it indicates how affordability pressures are reshaping roommate culture nationwide. Once concentrated in dense urban neighborhoods, shared living is increasingly becoming a suburban reality as renters of all ages seek lower-cost alternatives to living alone.”
Data methodology
Area search data based on more than 16 million searches by SpareRoom users in 2025 and 2024. These are search terms input into Google and landing on roommate site SpareRoom. Similar searches for the same areas have been aggregated.
About SpareRoom
SpareRoom is the #1 roommate finder and every three minutes someone finds a roommate on SpareRoom. SpareRoom is active across the UK and US and has so far helped more than 19 million people fill or find a room.
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