The median renter in America has a net worth of $10,400. The median homeowner’s net worth is $400,000

Two years ago, Elizabeth Grantham decided she didn’t want to rent much longer, so she moved from her hometown in the pricey San Francisco Bay Area to Washington state to save up to buy a home.

Two years ago, Elizabeth Grantham decided she didn’t want to rent much longer, so she moved from her hometown in the pricey San Francisco Bay Area to Washington state to save up to buy a home. “Our rent was getting raised every year. Even the cost of the parking space at our apartment complex went up,” Grantham, who is 31, recently told CNN. “Then eventually you move, and soon that rent starts to rise. That’s how it’s gone for most of my adult life.” The story of the housing market over the past few years has been characterized by a growing divide between “haves” and “have-nots” — those who rent and those who own a home. Existing homeowners in America have seen their wealth on paper explode as home prices have surged across the country. At the same time, after a slight dip in rents after the start of the Covid pandemic, rents have also spiked, eating into many people’s savings. A recent report from the Aspen Institute highlights the gaping wealth chasm that has formed between homeowners and renters in America. The median homeowner in America has a net worth of $400,000 as of 2022, the most recent data available, while the median renter’s net worth is just $10,400, according to the report. That means the typical homeowner has almost 40 times as much wealth as the typical renter. Next month, Grantham will likely finally achieve her goal of homeownership when she and her partner close on a two-bedroom, one-bathroom starter home in Tacoma, Washington, in January. They settled on the location, about an hour outside of Seattle, because home prices were more reasonable compared to major cities. Grantham said her long-term goal is to build up home equity.