As mortgage rates remain elevated, the housing market remains tight, and inflation weighs on consumers’ pockets, renting is becoming the main option for more and more Americans.
About 44 million, or 32% of American households are renters. This has many worried about the long-term costs of renting, especially as the cost of rent is also continuing to rise.
This is reflected in just how meticulously renters are carrying out their search for their next apartment or home, according to RentCafe’s Mid-Year Rental Activity Report. Based on web traffic and search trends, the site found the most popular cities that renters are keeping an eye on at the start of 2024.
Click through to see the 10 most popular cities for renters in the first six months of the year.
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Richmond was the no. 10 most popular city for renters, with a 19% rise in traffic from renters looking for apartments in the city and a 14% dip in available listings. The city, however, saw a 31% decline in saved searches and a 29% fall in favorited listings.
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Philadelphia had a 76% year-over-year surge in page views on RentCafe, and a 16% decline in available listings — a sign that the city is increasing in popularity. On the other hand, saved searches have stayed almost unchanged, and favorited apartments fell by 20%.
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The eighth most popular city for renters is Orlando. While it saw lower year-over-year web traffic, saved searches, and favorite apartments, RentCafe noted still-high interest in the city. An 18% drop in available listings suggests that Orlando is still a hotspot for renters.
4 / 10
Tacoma saw traffic shoot up 89% in the first six months of the year, compared with the same period in 2023. That resulted in a13% drop in available listings, RentCafe found.
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In the first half of 2024, Washington, D.C. had a 13% year-over-year increase in traffic — not a large jump, but adding to an already high baseline. Available listings fell by 9%. There are signs of waning interest, however, including a 23% drop in favorited apartments, and a 37% decline in saved searches.
6 / 10
Not a city, but a borough, Queens had a 138% jump in page views compared with the first six months of 2023, putting it in the top five most popular places renters are looking at.
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Cleveland was the fourth most popular city for renters in the first half of the year. It saw a 52% spike in page views, a 13% rise in favorited apartments, and a 26% drop in availabilities.
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Despite there being fewer searches and fewer favorites for apartments in Atlanta, there’s still high renter interest, RentCafe said. That puts Atlanta at no. 3 across the country, and first in Georgia and the South.
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With a 129% year-over-year surge in page views for rentals, Overland Park is the second most popular city for renters in the first half of 2024. RentCafe.com measured a 31% increase in saved searches for apartments in the city, and a 21% rise in listings saved as favorites.
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Minneapolis is the most popular city for renters. The number of renters searching for apartments in the city on RentCafe almost doubled compared with the first half of 2023.
The city also saw a 49% year-over-year increase in saved searches, with the number of available apartments falling by 21% in that same period.
