RentCafe has ranked the best U.S. cities for renting an apartment in 2022, using a unique combination of 17 metrics and proprietary data, according to a release.
“In addition to what it costs to live in America’s cities, we also looked at the selection and quality of apartments, the quality of their neighborhoods, occupancy rates, local economy growth, air quality, job opportunities and much more,” the company said in the release
The report ranks the suburb north of Austin, Round Rock, as the best city for renters in 2022, followed by North Carolina’s fastest-growing city, Raleigh.
Here is the ranking across the three main categories of cost of living and housing, local economy and quality of life:
- Round Rock leads other Southern cities, small and large, that confirm not only Texas’ appeal for renters, but the South’s as an entire region. Round Rock stands out especially due to its highly rated schools, having one of the best job growths in the country: 9.1 percent, and a large stock of high-end apartments: 75 percent.
- Raleigh takes the second spot due to its great quality of life metrics, as well as its high-end apartments in quality neighborhoods, low unemployment rate – 4.3 percent, and access to high-quality education.
- Conroe, TX ranks third thanks to its great cost of living and housing, followed by Greenville, SC, and Orlando, FL, which rounds up the top 5.
- Jacksonville, FL takes the title of best large city for renters, at no. 6 overall. What made it stand out were its large apartments, high number of new business applications – one of the highest in the country, good job growth – 5.4%, and low unemployment rate– 5.5 percent.
- Small cities dominate the cost of living & housing section, with Savannah, GA in the lead. Its large floorplans and lower overall costs of living helped the city rank high up in the general chart as well, at no. 12. Plano, TX ranks best for local economy, with a low unemployment rate of 4 percent, one of the highest average incomes: $78,700, and a healthy job growth of 7.4 percent.
