Renters looking for the best value for their home should look to major coastal cities, according to a recent ranking of the U.S. housing market.
Instead, they should consider small towns and cities in the Midwest and Southwest.
Charts published by personal finance website WalletHub not only check the rent – but have 14% increase year in the US – but there are other affordability measures for each market as well. These metrics include cost of living, average square footage, average rental insurance costs, sublet laws, deposit limits, and tenant screening standards.
The scores also include quality-of-life indicators, which account for 40% of the total rental market score. These indicators include weather, school quality, crime rates, resident satisfaction surveys, average commute costs, and the strength of the local job market.
Here are the 12 best US cities for renters, out of the 182 largest metropolitan areas:
- Columbia, Maryland
- Overland Park, Kansas
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Bismarck, North Dakota
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Chandler, Arizona
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Gilbert, Arizona
- El Paso, Texas
- Casper, Wyoming
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Fargo, North Dakota
While large cities like New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago make up the bottom half of the rankings, smaller cities and suburbs in the Southwest and Midwest make up the top half.
Columbia, Maryland, a planned community outside of Baltimore, ranked first. Markets in Arizona, Texas, Iowa and the Dakotas make up a large portion of the top 50 rankings.
These markets are located in less populated states, which tend to have more vacancies and cheaper rents, although they don’t always rank at the top for quality of life. For example, Bismarck ranked fourth, North Dakota, ranked first for affordability, but only 157th for quality of life.
Cities in California also appear in the top rankings, with San Francisco ranking highest at number 14, followed by San Jose, ranking 20 overall. As with these two cities, many California housing markets have high quality-of-life scores, but their rankings are often slashed by average or poor ratings for affordability.
Rent affordability continues to be a pressing issue for consumers. Average US rents increased by about $300 last year, totaling $2,016 in June 2022, according to data offered by Redfin, a real estate brokerage firm.
For the ranking, WalletHub compared 150 of the most populous US cities, plus at least two of the most populous cities in each state. The analysis assessed rental affordability and quality of life across 22 different metrics, using data from sources such as the US Census Bureau, the National Association of Realtors, and GreatSchools. .org.
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