Census data shows more than 500 midsize and large cities have larger numbers of tenant-occupied homes.

In the wake of the nation's housing-market collapse and recession, more than 500 midsize and large cities have seen a rise in the share of homes that are rented rather than owned, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Census data.

Nationwide, 34.9 percent of occupied homes were rented in 2010, up from 33.8 percent in 2000. The Census data for cities covered only housing within the cities' boundaries, not their much larger metropolitan areas.

Almost 4 million homes have been lost to foreclosures in the past five years, turning many former owner-occupied homes into rentals.

The shift to rental housing is potentially long-lasting and portends changes for neighborhood stability and how people build wealth, economists say.

The swing from owner- to tenant-occupied homes in the past decade has been dramatic in some places:

•Of the 100 largest cities, some of those with the largest shifts were Irvine, Calif., which went from about 40 percent of occupied homes rented in 2000 to 49.8 percent in 2010; Philadelphia, from 40.7 percent to 45.9 percent; and Birmingham, Ala., 46.3 percent to 50.7 percent.

•Twenty-five cities — including Baltimore, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Sacramento — swung from having more than half homeowners in 2000 to majorities of renters in 2010. In one — Reading, Pa. — 57.6 percent of occupied homes were rentals in 2010, up from 49 percent in 2000.

•Florida, California and Arizona had the most cities where the share of renter-occupied housing grew by at least 5 percentage points. All three states have been hit hard by foreclosures.

For more information: www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2011-05-30-renters-owners-census_n.htm?loc=interstitialskip