These are the 20 most expensive neighborhoods for renters in the US

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Over the past decade, more and more people have been renting instead of buying homes.

A survey from the Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies found that renter households soared by nearly 9 million from 2005 to 2015; at the end of 2015, almost a third of US households lived in rental housing.

Much of this increase is driven by growth in suburban renters — as downtown areas have become less affordable for lower- and middle-income residents, many of them have been pushed to the suburbs, but still can't afford to buy homes.

And for most renters, their current situation isn't ideal. They would rather own their home and not pay incredibly high rent, but they may have lost their house to foreclosure during the recession or can't qualify for a mortgage.

But for a subset of the population — a mostly affluent subset — preferences are actually shifting toward renting. People want to live within walking distance or a short commute of work or school or nightlife. They don't want the suburbs, and they're willing to pay the high rent for it.

HomeUnion, an online real-estate investment management firm, has released a list of the 20 most expensive neighborhoods or cities to live for these so-called renters-by-choice.

Read on to see where rent is in the highest demand.

20. Franklin, Tennessee

Metro area: Nashville

Median household income: $94,458

Average rent: $2,534

Source: HomeUnion

19. Baldwin Park, Florida

Metro area: Orlando

Median household income: $95,292

Average rent: $2,553

Source: HomeUnion

18. Rice Military, Texas

Metro area: Houston

Median household income: $97,546

Average rent: $2,858

Source: HomeUnion