A new survey says the average new RV owner is now significantly younger

• RV sales have skyrocketed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The average RV buyer who bought their first vehicle during COVID-19 is younger and less likely to be white than buyers before 2020.

RV sales have boomed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, especially from first-time buyers interested in investing in life on the road.

And according to data compiled by the RV Industry Association, RVing isn't just for retirees anymore: Many of these new buyers are now younger.

RV ownership has jumped more than 62% throughout the last 20 years. The 18 to 34-year-old age range specifically has grown "significantly," making up 22% of current RV owners, according to RVIA's "2021 Go RVing RV Owner Demographic Profile." And of these millennial and Gen Z tiny home on wheels owners, 84% reported that they were planning on buying an additional build.

And unlike their older counterparts, these Gen Z and millennial-owned RVs have more tech and leisure add-ons — like streaming devices and outdoor gear — and are being used more for music festivals, according to RVIA.

The RV ownership community is also becoming more diverse, albeit by a small increment. Of all the current RV owners, about 85% are white. But this drops to 76% in first-time buyers who purchased in 2020.

Meanwhile, first-time Black buyers made up 13% of this 2020 cohort, an 11% increase compared to at least six years ago. The remaining new buyers were Asian and Hispanic or Latinos at 5% and 6%, respectively.

"I'm seeing far more people of color at RV parks today than when we started RVing seven years ago," Keith Sims, a former National Football League player and owner of the Soulful RV Family blog, said in a statement on the press release. "My mother-in-law rents out her RV and half of the renters are minorities."