Midwest Tops List of Most Popular Cities for Renters

As high home prices and the peak rental season bring out more renters looking for apartments, renting has become the new buying, according to RentCafe's June Rental Activity Report.

The new reports finds that the Midwest is the most popular region for renters, followed by the South. Overall, the South claims 12 entries in our June ranking—the most out of all regions. The Midwest follows with 10 spots, including the top four. Atlanta (#7) goes on as the highest-ranking city in the South for the third consecutive month.

Kansas City, MO, is June’s most desired city by renters, maintaining its top spot from last month. Neighboring Overland Park, KS, comes next, followed by Minneapolis in third place. Apartment listings in these cities saw the most engagement on RentCafe.com this month due to high rates of rental properties saved to favorites, personalized searches, scarce unit availability and overall high listing views.

Nearly half of this month’s most sought-after top 30 cities are located in the South, after six new locations in the region entered our ranking. For example, North Carolina tech hub Charlotte made it to the 20th spot, while neighboring college town Greensboro is this month’s 30th most in-demand city for renters.

Further north along the East Coast, New York City’s most affordable borough, the Bronx, jumped three more places to #14 in this month’s ranking. At the same time, Queens, NY; Philadelphia; and Chicago all fell a few positions, but are still among the nation’s most sought-after places by renters in June.

South claims most cities in top 30, but Midwest takes highest spots

The top 30 most sought-after cities by renters in our June rental activity report includes 12 cities in the South after a wave of new entries from the region. But, the Midwest dominates the top five with Kansas City, Overland Park, Minneapolis and Cincinnati occupying the first four spots.

Another Midwestern city on our list is Indianapolis, which jumped an impressive 13 spots to #13. More precisely, views of apartment listings in the city increased by 13% compared to last June. At the same time, Indianapolis rentals on RentCafe.com became more popular this month as apartment hunters saved 25% more personalized searches. However, what’s more impressive is that renters favorited seven times more properties than a year ago, showing more determination to move to a new place in the city.

To the north, Chicago dropped seven spots to #22, but nevertheless remains a sought-after place by renters. Specifically, there were 7% fewer listings available this month versus last June as the number of apartments added to renters’ favorites list nearly tripled. Madison, WI, (#23) and Columbus, OH, (#24) complete the list of Midwestern hubs in the top 30.

Meanwhile, the Bronx is the Northeast’s highest-ranking location at #14 after climbing three spots since last month. New York City’s most affordable borough saw an impressive 46% year-over-year decline in the number of apartments available for rent, reflecting high demand from renters. Traffic on listings pages for the borough rose by nearly 50%, and the number of apartments favorited by renters doubled in that same timeframe. However, Queens (the other NYC borough in the top 30) fell to #25.

Similarly, Philadelphia (the third Northeastern urban hub on our list) dropped six spots to #19, but remains a highly desirable place for renters. Rentals in Philly get filled up fast, which is reflected in the 9% decrease in available listings this month versus last June. Plus, the number of personalized searches saved by renters doubled as the number of favorited listings quadrupled.

Vibrant cities in the South infuse top 30

June’s rental activity report saw the highest number of new entries thus far: One-third of the most in-demand cities this month made the list for the first time.

Overland Park is June’s highest-ranking newcomer at #2, followed by Omaha, NE, at #11. It's worth noting here that Nebraska’s largest city climbed a whopping 32 places as listings in the city attracted 12% more views this month versus last June. And, although the number of available apartments for rent remained virtually unchanged compared to one year ago, renters saved 32% more personalized searches and favorited six times as many apartments. This shows that this city’s great balance between cost of living and job opportunities is attracting renters’ attention.

Florida’s Hialeah joins Orlando (#8) and Fort Lauderdale (#18) in the ranking at #17. Located within the hot Miami metro, Hialeah is buzzing with rental activity. In particular, high rental demand led to 26% fewer available listings this month compared to last June, while online traffic for RentCafe.com rental pages in the city increased by 12%. Additionally, renters saved 70% more personalized searches for apartments in the city compared to one year ago.

North Carolina tech hub Charlotte (#20) and college town Greensboro (#30) are also part of our top 30 most in-demand cities for renters for the first time. Charlotte climbed 12 spots as renters favorited three times as many listings this month versus last June and saved 23% more personalized searches. Similarly, Greensboro made it on our list after jumping 17 places as the number of favorited apartments tripled.

Not to be outdone, Little Rock, AR, ranks 21st after pulling off a notable climb of 56 spots. Renters are often drawn to Little Rock due to its small town vibe and big city amenities. As a result, Little Rock apartment listings on RentCafe.com attracted 46% more views compared to one year ago. Plus, apartment hunters favorited triple the properties in that same timeframe, thereby pushing the city up in the ranking.

Madison, WI; Glendale, AZ; Birmingham, AL; and Richmond, VA; round out the list of new entries in the June rental activity report.

To read the full report, including more data, charts and methodology, click here.