In Florida, Kissimmee is getting attention from the Generation Z — affectionately called ‘Zoomers’ — crowd.
According to a survey by RentCafe, an online team reporting monthly apartment trends, Zoomers are now the most active renter generation, making up more than a quarter of apartment seekers nationwide. And Gen Zs are giving large urban areas a much-needed glow-up, ramping up rental activity in some of the most soughtafter markets in the country. According to RentCafe’s analysis of millions of rental applications in urban areas around the country, its findings are that Kissimmee is getting much attention from this youn g and tech-savvy cohort, emerging as the No. 1 trendiest Gen Z city in Florida.
The study showed Kissimmee recorded a 28 percent uptick in the share of rental applications submitted by Generation Z, defined as those born starting in 1997 — those currently in their early to mid-20s. That figure is just ahead of St. Petersburg among Florida cities.
A quarter of Kissimmee’s renters are now Zoomers, up from 17 percent in 2020. Apartment applications submitted by all the other generations of renters either stagnated or declined this past year. While Millennials (born 1981-96) still represent most apartment-seekers in the city, their rental requests have steadily decreased since 2020.
Andrea Neculae, a creative writer and real estate researcher at RentCafe, Kissimmee benefits from its proximity to Orlando and its job market — which validates local government’s issue that a great percentage of Osceola residents leave the county when they shuffle off to work.
“There is one thing that Kissimmee has the upper hand over Orlando, and that is space. With work from home still being a part of our lives, young adults that are just entering the workforce are looking for some extra room for a home office,” Neculae said. “And Kissimmee offers just that, according to our latest study, where it ranks seventh with an average of 967 square feet for $1,700, compared to Orlando’s 918 square-foot average.”
To see the full report, go to https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/
