TACOMA, WA — Zoomers are fast becoming a mayor player in the rental scene, as the younger generation grows up, moves out and begins seeking new homes of its own. In fact, RentCafe says Zoomers are the “only active generation of apartment seekers” nationwide, and saw a 21 percent increase in their share of rental applications last year alone.

The good news — at least for landlords — is that they still like Puget Sound. According to a recent ranking from RentCafe, Seattle was listed as the 8th trendiest Zoomer hotspot of 2022, after the Emerald City saw a 52 percent increase in the share of Zoomers who moved into a new apartment last year. Put another way, almost a third of renters living in Seattle last year were Zoomers, up from just 18 percent the year before.

“With this spike and the drop in share of applications by other generations, like Millennials and Baby Boomers, it seems that Zoomers are paving the way to becoming the largest renter cohort,” RentCafe said.

But while Seattle was the only city that made RentCafe’s prestigious top 20, other Western Washington cities are quietly becoming Gen Z havens all their own. Tacoma, for example, has the largest share of Zoomers in the state, making up 35 percent of Grit City’s renter population.

The move to Seattle and Tacoma makes sense, researchers say, as the younger generation has largely headed to bigger cities to make their fortunes.

“Big cities offer many amenities that are not available in smaller cities or rural areas, from dining and entertainment options to public transit, to services like gyms and spas. And big cities offer opportunities for social networking—whether Gen Zers are looking for professional colleagues to bounce ideas off of, or romantic partners, they’re more likely to find someone to connect with, in a big, dense city,” said Nicholas Dempsey, Associate Professor of Sociology at Eckerd College.

For those not ready for the big city, Kent and Everett were also listed as up-and-coming Gen Z cities in Washington after seeing similar spikes in the share of Zoomer applications: 21 percent in Kent, and 18 percent in Everett.

Here are RentCafe’s Top 20 Trending Cities for Gen Z Renters in 2022

1. San Francisco, CA
2. Jersey City, NJ
3. Manhattan, NY
4. Philadelphia, PA
5. Boston, MA
6. Arlington, VA
7. San Jose, CA
8. Seattle, WA
9. Minneapolis, MN
10. Los Angeles, CA
11. Peoria, AZ
12. Long Beach, CA
13. Alexandria, VA
14. Irving, TX
15. San Diego, CA
16. Baltimore, MD
17. Lewisville, TX
18. Atlanta, GA
19. Glen Burnie, MD
20. West Des Moines, IA

>> Read more from RentCafe.