Metro Denver apartment tenants are paying much more in monthly rents than they did back in 2013 and, as a group, are skewing younger in age even as the overall population gets older, according to a new survey from the National Multifamily Housing Council.

In their favor, the survey found that tenants are reporting higher incomes on average, and 88 percent still expect to own a home at some point.

Back in 2013, about three in 10 apartment tenants in metro Denver paid less than $1,000 a month in rent, according to the survey. Last year, only 11 percent still had a rent that low.

At the other extreme, 10 percent of Denver-area renters reported paying $1,901 or more a month for their apartments versus only 2 percent of those surveyed in 2013.

“Denver has become one of the hottest real estate markets in the country,” said Jim Lapides, a spokesman for the NMHC.

Builders are responding with amenity-rich apartments in the walkable neighborhoods tenants say they favor, contributing to higher rents.

The NMHC represents owners of larger apartment complexes with professional property management. With the help of Kingsley Associates, the trade group surveyed 5,343 renters across the metro area in August.

Supporting Denver’s reputation as a favorite among relocating millennials, the survey found that 52 percent of renters last year were 34 or younger, compared with 45 percent in 2013.

In both surveys, nine in 10 renters had either a one- or two-bedroom apartment. But one-bedrooms have replaced two-bedrooms in popularity, and only 3 percent were in studios or micro-units.

About half of the renters surveyed described the decision to rent as a lifestyle choice versus one forced on them because of affordability constraints.

In the 2013 survey, 28 percent of apartment renters in Denver reported household incomes above $75,000 versus 36 percent last year.

That kind of income could in theory still support the purchase of a median-priced home in the area, and about 88 percent of renters expect to own a home at some point, including a fifth of renters who expect to buy within a year.

“Given what happened with the housing bubble, people are more judicious in choosing when they will buy,” Lapides said.

Denver apartment renters were close to the national averages on many questions, but they stood out in a few areas, Lapides said.

Being close to the action is important for renters across the country, but it is more so in Denver, where a higher share rated being within walking distance of a restaurant or bar as important.

Denver renters also are more likely to own a pet, and they favored fireplaces as a desired amenity at the highest rate in the country — 58 percent.

A separate rent survey from Apartment List found that Colorado apartment rents were flat or slightly down in November from October and averaged $1,320 a month for a two-bedroom unit.

Boulder remained Colorado’s most expensive market in the survey, with two-bedroom rents averaging $2,010 a month. Golden, Broomfield, Highlands Ranch and Denver were also on the high end.

Average monthly rents for a two-bedroom were still below $1,000 a month in Pueblo, Grand Junction, Greeley, Loveland and Colorado Springs.

Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or @aldosvaldi