Invest In Apartment Buildings In Memphis, TN

Who Rents In Memphis And Where They Work

Most Memphis households rent. The renter share is 55.1%, against 33.1% for Tennessee, and the city has 139,512 renter households (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024). That count grew 3.8% over five years even as the population fell 5.1% to 618,980. Median gross rent in Memphis is $1,181 a month, up 31.1% from $901 in the 2015–2019 survey, while median household income rose 25.5% to $51,736. More than half of renters, 55.7%, spend at least 30% of income on housing.

FedEx is the anchor. It has run its hub at Memphis International Airport since 1973, and HUD's 2024 market analysis lists it as the area's largest employer with about 35,000 workers. The airport is the busiest cargo airport in North America, and UPS, Nike and an 855,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center in north Memphis add more logistics jobs. Health care is the largest sector, with 100,800 jobs in 2024. Methodist Le Bonheur employs about 11,450 people and Baptist Memorial about 9,950, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is in the middle of a $1.5 billion expansion with two 15-story towers that is expected to add more than 1,000 jobs by early 2027. Two newer projects draw attention. Ford's $5.6 billion BlueOval City campus is in Haywood County, just outside the metro, and xAI brought its Colossus supercomputer online in a former Electrolux plant in South Memphis in 2024.

For owners, this is a large, steady pool of hourly and shift workers, with a smaller professional base around the hospitals and downtown. Employment fell 4.4% in the Census five-year comparison and unemployment is 8.3%, so anyone weighing apartment syndications in Memphis should pay close attention to collections and screening.

Memphis Rents, Occupancy And New Supply

New construction has nearly stopped. RealPage counted fewer than 800 completions in the year ending in the first quarter of 2026, and fewer than 90 units under construction, about 0.1% of inventory and the lowest share among the 50 largest U.S. markets. Even so, the market has been soft. Occupancy was 94% in March 2026, in the bottom 10 of large markets, and effective asking rent of $1,237 was down 2.8% from a year earlier. RealPage's read is that demand weakened while supply fell, so less competition hasn't yet given owners pricing power. CoStar noted in 2026 that the biggest recent construction spikes were in Collierville and East Memphis.

HUD's 2024 analysis, using a different methodology, put metro apartment vacancy at 13.8% in early 2024 and showed wide gaps by area, from 23.5% in Frayser and Raleigh to 5.5% in Collierville. The Census rental vacancy rate for the city is 8.1%. It covers every rental, including houses and duplexes, so it won't match broker figures for large communities. Memphis has 73,975 homes in buildings with five or more units, 25.5% of its housing, down 0.8% in five years. The HUD fiscal 2027 two-bedroom fair market rent for the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro is $1,301.

For a buyer, the lack of new supply means a well-run older property won't face many new competitors. The risk sits on the demand side. We look at a submarket's actual occupancy, bad debt and turnover, not just the metro average, because results vary sharply from one part of the city to another.

Memphis Neighborhoods We Watch

Conditions differ more by area in Memphis than in most cities this size.

Where Memphis Stands Among Its Peers

Out of 30 Tennessee cities in our data, Memphis comes in 20th for median gross rent, 2nd for renter share and 21st for five-year rent growth. Its rents fall in the middle of the pack. Compared with the 2015–2019 survey, Memphis now has about 32,952 fewer residents, 5,107 more renter households and 597 fewer homes in buildings with 5 or more units.

Memphis Compared With Shelby County

Memphis's median gross rent of $1,181 is below the Tennessee median of $1,189, and its renter share is 55.1% compared with 33.1% statewide.

Memphis Rent Affordability In Dollars

At $1,181 a month, the median Memphis rent adds up to $14,172 a year, or roughly 27.4% of what the median household earns. Under the common 30% guideline, a household needs about $47,200 a year to cover that rent comfortably. That's a heavier load than the Tennessee average of 20.5%. Renters usually earn less than the all-household median, so the real burden for tenants is higher than this simple ratio shows.

In dollars, Memphis rent climbed $280 a month over five years and household income climbed $10,512 a year. Rent has outpaced income, so we are careful about how much further a business plan pushes rents on renewal. HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit, $1,301, is 10.2% above the median gross rent for all unit sizes. That gap matters for buildings that accept Housing Choice Vouchers, since local housing authorities base voucher payment standards on it.

Memphis Rental Market In Numbers

These are the core numbers for Memphis, TN, each from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

• Memphis, TN has 618,980 residents, down 5.1% from the 2015–2019 survey (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• Median household income in Memphis, TN is $51,736, up 25.5% over five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• Median gross rent in Memphis, TN is $1,181 a month, up 31.1% over five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• 55.1% of households in Memphis, TN rent, about 139,512 renter households (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• 25.5% of homes in Memphis, TN are in buildings with 5 or more units (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• The rental vacancy rate in Memphis, TN is 8.1%, and 55.7% of renters spend 30% or more of income on rent (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• The median home in Memphis, TN was built in 1970 (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).

What We Look For In A Memphis Apartment Building

Our buy box in Memphis is the same one we use nationwide: 5+ unit apartment buildings, stabilized or in need of work, priced on today's rents. Then we test the property against the local data on this page and a full inspection of its major systems.

Tennessee has no state income tax on wages, and property taxes are often one of the largest expenses for apartment owners. We underwrite the tax bill after purchase, not the seller's current bill, since a sale often resets the assessment. Tennessee has no statewide rent control law, though local rules on notices, fees and deposits still apply. We get an insurance quote before we make an offer, because premiums have risen in most states.

After a stretch of fast rent growth, we keep rent assumptions modest and leave room for concessions if new supply opens nearby.

Evaluating Apartment Syndications In Memphis

Before you invest in an apartment syndication in Memphis, with us or anyone else, the local data points to a few questions worth asking.

• What vacancy does the plan assume? Rental vacancy in Memphis is 8.1%. A plan that assumes much lower vacancy than the market should explain why.
• What rent growth is underwritten? Rents here rose 31.1% over five years. Ask whether the plan assumes that pace continues, and what happens to the deal if rents stay flat.
• How was the property tax bill estimated? A sale often triggers a reassessment, so the bill after purchase can be well above what the seller pays today.
• What capital work is budgeted? The median home in Memphis was built in 1970, so roofs, plumbing and electrical systems deserve their own line items.
• How and when does capital come back? Ask what the plan is for a refinance or sale, and what happens if that takes longer than expected.

How Passive Investing In A Memphis Apartment Syndication Works

Here's the short version. The general partner, in this case Skyline, finds an apartment building in Memphis, buys it with a loan and investor capital, and runs it. Limited partners supply part of that capital and hold an ownership share, without landlord duties or personal liability for the loan.

It's a long-term commitment. The property has to be refinanced or sold before most capital comes back, and the outcome isn't certain. Eligibility rules vary by offering, and most are limited to accredited investors. See investing with Skyline Capital for how we work with limited partners.

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