The results of a study published Tuesday, jointly funded by the National Apartment Association and National Multi-Housing Council, offer one of the most comprehensive looks to date at the size and scope of the nation’s multifamily industry, and the economic impact of its 35 million residents. The survey was conducted by Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D., George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis. The numbers are impressive, illuminating how many residual benefits can be attributed to apartment renting. The findings in the study are validation of the construction and development patterns observed by walkable urbanism researcher Chris Leinberger. Renters want urban apartments with services and amenities within easy reach.  As he told us last week: “Any list of walkable metro areas that are doing well is also the list of best performing real estate markets.” The survey looks at major metros Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington, D.C.  in detail as to how apartments contribute to their economies. To see state-by-state breakdowns on the number of apartment residents, apartment homes, jobs supported and contribution to statewide economy, visit the Apartments: We Live Here interactive infographic. Though new construction gets a lot of attention, especially post-recession, don’t overlook the economic boost provided by ongoing maintenance of existing apartment homes. According to Fuller: “Often overlooked as an economic contributor, the industry spent $68 billion operating and maintaining the nation’s 19.3 million apartment homes in 2011 alone. That’s 4.5 times the amount spent on multifamily construction,” he wrote. And as more apartment communities are constructed to meet growing renter demands, those numbers are only going up. Here’s a quick look at some of the highlights from the study. Today: 34.6 million: number of apartment residents in the United States...