Why more people in Linn County are choosing to live with roommates

MARION — Austin Harger’s house isn’t home unless it’s full.

Harger, now 24, grew up as one of four siblings who never knew anything different from the hustle and bustle of a full house. He lived alone for a while after high school, but it just wasn’t the same: It was too quiet, too still.

That feeling ultimately pushed Harger to seek some new accommodations where he wouldn’t feel so alone, and he now lives in Marion alongside his partner, Luke, and their two roommates, Scott and Kylie.

“It’s interesting because I feel like it brings a sense of reassurance that I didn’t have when I was living by myself,” Harger said. “I like to know that someone’s going to be there when I get home or who can handle something” if I’m not there.

And he’s not alone. Rather, Harger is part of a small, but growing group of Linn County residents that data shows are choosing to live with roommates. Here’s what’s behind the trend.

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Housing study notes ‘significant’ growth in roommate households

Each year, the city of Cedar Rapids contracts with Maxfield Research and Consulting to complete an annual report on the city’s housing supply and any future housing needs. The report primarily focuses on Cedar Rapids, but it also includes data from Marion, Hiawatha and other portions of Linn County.

The report is a sort of annual snapshot that shows where things are at with supply and demand for housing in and around Iowa’s second largest city, and it makes note of any trends that could affect the area’s housing-related needs moving forward.

Maxfield Research recently completed the 2025 report, which is available now online and will go to the Cedar Rapids City Council Development Committee for review and discussion early this year.

The report lists all the typical data around available housing stock, vacancy rates and area demographics, but it also highlights some interesting trends around household makeup.

“Although the smallest household type remains roommate households, this category exhibited some significant increases between 2010 and 2024,” the report reads. “And the new Census data recently separated out unmarried, cohabitating couples … without children, which continues to grow.”

In 2025, the report estimates there were approximately 7,092 roommate households in Linn County — up from around just over 6,700 in 2010 and closer to 5,300 in 2000. Those figures account for unmarried couples without children and households with platonic roommate pairs/groups.

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The majority of such households are located in Cedar Rapids, although the report states other portions of Linn County such as Marion are also following the trend. Of the areas included in the study, only Hiawatha saw a decrease in roommate households between 2010 and 2025.

The report does not opine as to the reason for the rise in roommate households, but housing developer Chad Pelley has a few ideas. Pelley, of Twenty40 Building Concepts, is behind several single- and multi-family residential developments across Linn County.

In the last few years, he’s noticed an increase in demand for two-bedroom, two-bathroom units driven anecdotally by an increase in young professionals opting to live with friends or significant others to bring down monthly costs.

It was a big enough uptick, in fact, that Pelley highlighted it in a pair of proposals this summer to acquire city-owned land for two housing projects in western Cedar Rapids set to include a portion of units designed for “working roommates.”

“It really comes back to affordability and the ability to get something nicer” than you would alone, Pelley said. “For a lot of these younger tenants, they want to live somewhere nice. But they still want that social aspect where they can afford to go out and meet up with friends, and they’re willing to take on a roommate to make that happen.”

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Camaraderie, cost-savings drives desire for roommates

Cost-savings was a significant driver behind David Sherma’s decision to bring on a roommate at his home in southwest Cedar Rapids. Most roommate households are rentals, the Maxfield report states, but a smaller portion are owner-occupied.

Sherma, a 25-year-old CNC machinist, purchased his Cedar Rapids home in 2022 as a way to build equity and put down roots. It made more sense to him than renting, which provides little capital return on investment.

“With a house, what’s yours is yours,” he said. “You’re building equity, and you’re not waiting on a landlord to fix the stove or whatever. The problem with that, though, is that you’re the one that fixes the stove now and you’re the one paying for it.”

To help offset some of those costs, Sherma decided to have a friend move in who could help cover costs and split household chores like snow removal or yard work. That friend recently moved out of state, but Sherma said he’s already seeking another roommate to fill their spot.

He said he knows he could afford to live alone and cover all of his own expenses, if needed, but that having a roommate provides him with extra “spending money” and helps keep things interesting.

“Living alone can get lonely,” he said. “When you’re on your own, you get into that routine of ‘I sleep. I get up. I work. I come home. I sleep again.’ There’s more of a companionship aspect to living with roommates."

Harger echoed a similar sentiment, noting that there’s "almost always” someone home now that he’s living alongside three others near Uptown Marion. Their friend group can host regular game nights or catch up over dinner without having to worry too much about locational logistics.

Having roommates also means there are more people to help with house chores or taking care of the various pets that live there, he added, which can be helpful if one of them has a particularly hectic week.

“You always have the reliability of having someone there,” Harger said. “Everyone is very respectful. We don’t have many huge disputes, and I get to be around people that I know and care about.”

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