U.S. Has 1.1 Million More Occupied Apartment Units Today Than in 2020

Apartment demand has been strong over the last few years – and so has apartment supply. In layering those two metrics alongside total existing apartment inventory, demand again appears very strong. The U.S. has over 1.1 million more occupied apartment units than it did at the onset of the global pandemic in early 2020, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics. Of the approximately 19.4 million market rate, professionally managed apartments across the U.S., February 2024 occupancy clocked in at 94.1%. That translates to a little over 18.2 million occupied apartment units nationwide, an increase of more than 1.1 million occupied units compared to February 2020. At that time, the nation’s 17.9 million market rate, professionally managed apartment units were 95.4% occupied, translating to about 17.1 million occupied units. Even considering that U.S. occupancy has come down from highs recorded in late 2021 and early 2022, the number of occupied units has remained at or near all-time highs amid the onslaught of continuous new supply delivering. About 1.5 million apartment units have delivered across the U.S. since early 2020.