Evidence to support this? I have never found this to be true - heavily owner-occupied towns tend to be sleepy suburbs whereas the economic powerhouses of city centers are almost always very renter-heavy.
It's almost impossible for most people working in soulful / desirable / economic powerhouse locations to get a mortgage on a property there, so you see lots of wealthy investors take up the properties there and rent-seek to make themselves even richer.
That's before we even mention the children factor.
I’m not thrilled about renting, but neither do I want to gamble on purchasing housing in an expensive market when I may have to leave my job or even the state. My landlord is taking that risk with her capital and therefore deserves to be rewarded for it.