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$230,000. The median amount of cash savings held by renters was similarly low at just $800, compared with $7,300 for owners. The discrepancy in wealth is even greater among households headed by adults age 65 and over, who generally need to draw down their assets in retirement. The median net wealth of older renters was $6,700 in 2016, compared with a median for older homeowners of $319,200. Not all of this difference is due to housing wealth, however. The non -housing wealth of renters in all age groups is also several times lower than that of homeowners. THE GEOGRAPHY OF RENTING The 2016 American Community Survey indicates that just under half (46 percent) of all renter households reside in principal cities of metropolitan areas. By comparison, about a quarter (26 percent) of homeowner households live in these locations. Among the nation's 100 largest metro areas, the highest rentership rates are in high-cost markets such as Los Angeles (S2 percent) and New York City (49 percent), as well as in fast-growing areas such as Las Vegas (49 percent) and Austin (42 percent). The shares of renters are much smaller in low-cost and slow -growth areas like Detroit (32 percent), Grand Rapids (29 percent), and Pittsburgh (31 percent). Rentership rates are also relatively low in metros with large shares of older householders, such as Cape Coral, Deltona, and several other Florida metros, consistent with the high homeownership rates among this age group. Higher -income households are more apt to rent in high-cost hous- ing markets (Figure 12). This makes the renter population in these areas somewhat more economically diverse than the US average. However, these metros still have large numbers of low-income renters and the highest rates of renting among low-income households. Given their greater income diversity, renters in high-cost metros are also more diverse in terms of household type. Nearly half (45 percent) of all married couples with children that live in Los Angeles and San Diego rent their housing. By comparison, the share of mar- ried couples with children that rent is just 15 percent in Pittsburgh and 18 percent in Philadelphia. At the same time, high-cost markets tend to have larger shares of nontraditional households, which may include extra workers to help afford the high rents. For example, households with three or more adults made up 13 percent of renter households nationally in 2015, but 23 percent in the Los Angeles metro area. RENTING THROUGH THE LIFECYCLE The vast majority of households rent at some point in their lives. According to a JCHS analysis of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), about half (49 percent) of owners under age 60 in 2015 had been renters at some point within the previous 20 years. Among owners under age 50, the share was even higher at nearly three- quarters (72 percent). Renting Is More Common in High -Cost Housing Markets, Especially Among Higher -Income Households Rentership Rate(Percent) ag 70 so 50 40 30 20 19 Loss the o$15,000 $15,990-29,999 439,000-44,,999 $45,00074,999 $75,000 or More Total Household Income Largest 100 Mottos ®10 Highest Cost Mottos 0 Middle 30 Metros L�i 10 LowesFCost Mottos NBest of US Nom'. Mottos aro the bar mount by paper I at on 45 dullard in the 2016 Amu rican Community Survry. Somce'. JCHS tabulations of US Doasus Bureau. 2616 American Community Survey i Year Estimates using the Missouri Census Data Center MABLF/Gerro04,