Rental Activity Report: Washington, D.C., Surges to #1 Spot, South Dominates Top 30

• Washington, D.C., is the most desirable city for renters this month, steadily climbing the rankings since January.
• The South remains the most in-demand region, boasting a total of 14 entries in the top 30.
• Knoxville, TN, and Spokane, WA, are notable newcomers in the top 30, surging 37 and 41 spots, respectively.
• Arlington, VA, makes a comeback to the top 30 after soaring 128 spots from last month.

With fall in full swing and the busiest moving season behind us, many renters are still looking for their ideal place to call home. But, which cities are receiving the most attention from apartment-hunters this month?

Following a steady climb since the start of the year, Washington, D.C., has dethroned Detroit as the most sought-after city for renters in search of apartments on RentCafe.com. Minneapolis is now the runner-up, followed by Cleveland, which jumped two spots since last month. Detroit comes in fourth after dropping three positions month-over-month, while Atlanta is now in fifth place after sliding one spot.

These are the cities that are drawing the most attention on RentCafe.com as renters save searches and add listings to their favorites in a rental market with increasingly limited availability.

Regional trends show the South maintaining its dominance as the most popular region for renters, boasting 14 entries in the top 30 most sought-after cities this month. The Midwest follows with nine cities — a noticeable drop from last year when it regularly led the monthly rankings. The West comes in next with six cities, while the Northeast has only one city making our list this month.

To gain deeper insights into how regional markets have shifted so far in 2024, check out our September and August renter activity reports.

Washington, D.C., is the most in-demand city for renters this month

1. Washington, D.C.

After steadily climbing the rankings since the start of the year, Washington, D.C., has finally secured the top spot in October. By and large, renters are eyeing the nation’s capital due to its great combination of an excellent public transit system, quality healthcare, and overall good quality of life, as well as its low unemployment rate. Accordingly, this is reflected in a 3% decrease in available listings, while online traffic dropped by 17% year-over-year.

Additionally, Washington, D.C., saw a 26% decrease in listings added to favorites, on top of a 16% drop in saved searches on RentCafe.com. These shifts suggest that renters are very decisive when it comes to finding apartments in Washington, D.C., by spending less time searching for a place to call home. In particular, interest is especially high among renters from nearby Baltimore, New York City and Boston.

2. Minneapolis

Minneapolis climbs one spot since last month to earn the runner-up trophy once again. That’s despite a 2% dip in page views compared to this time last year and 39% fewer renters adding listings to their favorites.

At the same time, saved searches for apartments in Minneapolis increased by 18% amid an 8% drop in available listings. This suggests that apartment hunters are taking a more relaxed approach and prefer to revisit their searches before committing to a lease. That said, both local renters and apartment-hunters from Chicago; Dallas; and nearby St. Paul, MN, are eyeing the City of Lakes.

3. Cleveland

Cleveland rejoins the podium for the first time since May, after climbing two spots in the ranks. Notably, Cleveland’s surge in popularity can be attributed to its housing affordability, given that the average rent here is 30% lower than the U.S. average. The economy in the Forest City is also diverse and resilient, with more than 1,800 new jobs set to be created for the upcoming Ford electric vehicle plant.

Meanwhile, online traffic has increased by 16% while available listings dropped by 9% on a year-over-year basis. What’s more, renters favorited 6% fewer listings and added 18% fewer saved searches on RentCafe.com in October compared to this time last year. This highlights apartment-seekers’ continued interest in the city as they take a more measured approach to secure a rental here. Notably, apartments in Cleveland attract strong interest from renters in New York City and Columbus, OH.

4. Detroit

In October, Detroit lost its crown and landed just outside the podium, despite an increase of 36% in online traffic. This led to available listings for apartments in Detroit to drop by a whopping 30% year-over-year. Even so, interest in Motown living is still significantly high, as evidenced by the staggering 45% decrease in favorited apartments, which means that apartment-seekers are quick to commit to a lease they like amid very limited available options to choose from.

That said, Detroit continues to draw plenty of interest from local renters, as well as apartment-hunters from places such as New York City; Grand Rapids, MI; and Atlanta.

5. Atlanta

Atlanta rounds out our top five this month, consolidating its status as one of the most sought-after renter hubs in the South in 2024. As such, the city continues to attract interest from locals — as well as renters currently based in large hubs like New York City, Miami and Chicago, who are likely in search of more affordable housing options.

The consistently high search volumes on RentCafe.com for apartments in Atlanta keep the city in our top 30, despite a one-spot drop since last month.

6. Cincinnati

Cincinnati has climbed four spots since last month to now rank sixth in our ranking. The city’s popularity among renters is driven by a high quality of life, plenty of educational opportunities and an average rent that’s significantly lower than the national average.

Though online traffic dropped by 37% year-over-year, the number of available listings remained flat. Moreover, there are 53% fewer listings added to favorites and 52% fewer saved searches on RentCafe.com, indicating that renters are more meticulous as they search for a place to call home in Cincinnati.

Apartments in Cincinnati continue to attract interest renters hailing from Chicago and Columbus, OH, who are looking to move to the Queen City.

7. Chicago

Chicago leaps two spots since last month, settling comfortably in seventh place in October. Despite a 17% drop in online traffic, renter interest remains strong, as evidenced by the 13% decrease in available listings year-over-year. Plus, renters favorited 29% fewer listings and saved 35% fewer searches on RentCafe.com.

Although Chicago is the toughest rental market in the U.S., renters are still determined to find an apartment here, attracted by the job prospects and the quality of life that this city has to offer. Beside locals, apartments in Chicago also garnered interest from renters currently based in Dallas, New York City, and the nearby suburb of Wheaton, IL.

8. Philadelphia

Philadelphia claims eighth place in October, after dropping two spots month-over-month. Here again, renter interest continues to rise, as evidenced by the 16% increase in online traffic year-over-year, even as available listings in the city have dropped by 1%.

At the same time, there were 32% fewer listings added to favorites, while saved searches saw a 19% year-over-year drop. This suggests that there are significantly more renters looking to find a place to call home in Philadelphia, but they prefer to contact properties directly, skipping steps like saving searches or adding listings to their favorites.

Of course, apartments in Philadelphia continue to be appealing to local renters, as well as those from major hubs such as New York City, Boston or Atlanta.

9. Indianapolis

Indianapolis climbed five spots to reach the ninth spot in our top 10, despite a significant drop in online traffic year-over-year (down 30%). Even so, available listings in the city have dropped by 17% — a sign that there’s still interest from users searching on RentCafe.com.

In fact, renters seem very confident in their approach, especially given the city’s resilient job market, a low unemployment rate and an average rent that’s 27% below the national benchmark. This is demonstrated by the 32% decrease in favorited apartments year-over-year and the 53% drop in saved searches. As such, apartments in Indianapolis garner strong interest from out-of-state renters, including those from Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

10. Los Angeles

Los Angeles rounds out the top 10, after jumping two spots since last month. Despite the 6% drop in page views year-over-year, apartment seekers on RentCafe.com favorited 24% fewer listings compared to this time last year, signaling a swift approach when they found a rental they liked. This is also shown by the fact that saved searches also decreased by 24% year-over-year.

Moreover, high interest rates are making homeownership in Los Angeles less accessible and pushing more people to rent amid a strong, diverse job market in entertainment, tech and health care. Most of the demand for apartments for rent in Los Angeles comes from locals, followed by renters in East Los Angeles; Inglewood, CA; and New York City.

The South remains the most sought-after region by renters

The South continues to be the most in-demand region for renters in October with 14 cities featured in the top 30. The Midwest follows with nine entries, while the West features six spots. The Northeast only secured one city in our top 30.

In the South, Washington, D.C., claims the #1 spot overall, to become the most in-demand city in the region and the entire U.S. It’s followed by Atlanta (#2 in the region and #5 nationwide); Fayetteville, NC (#3 in the South and #11 in the U.S.); Knoxville, TN (#4 in the region and #12 nationwide); and Hialeah, FL (#5 in the South and #16 in the U.S.).

It's worth noting here that Arlington, VA, made an impressive comeback in the top 30 after a meteoric surge of 128 positions month-over-month to land at #17 in the U.S. and #6 in the South. Next are Louisville, KY (#18 nationwide and #7 in the South); Richmond, VA (#20 nationally and #8 in the region); Greensboro, NC (#21 in the U.S. and #9 in the South); and Orlando, FL (#22 nationwide and #10 in the region).

North Carolina features two more cities on the list: Winston-Salem (reaching #25 in the U.S. following a drop of 17 positions, and #11 in the South) and Charlotte (which climbed nine positions to #16 nationwide, to rank #12 in the region). They're followed by Newport News, VA (#26 in the U.S. and #13 in the South), and Baltimore, which ranks #28 nationally and #14 in the region.

Looking to the Midwest, Minneapolis continues to be the most popular city in the region and is the national runner-up, with Cleveland hot on its tail (#2 in the Midwest and #3 in the U.S.). Detroit is up next after dropping to #4 in the national rankings, followed by Cincinnati (#4 in the region and #6 in the U.S.); Chicago (#5 in the Midwest and #7 nationwide); and Indianapolis (#6 in the region and #9 in the U.S.).

The other three highly sought-after Midwestern cities in the top 30 are Overland Park, KS (#7 in the region and #14 in the U.S.); St. Paul, MN (#8 in the Midwest and #19 nationwide); and Kansas City, MO (#9 in the region and #29 in the U.S.).

Six Western cities also made it into the ranking this month, but only one stands out by breaking the top 10 for rental activity: Los Angeles has climbed two spots since last month to solidify its position as the most coveted city in the West and rank #10 nationwide. Further north, Spokane, WA, ranks #2 at the regional level and #13 nationwide after an impressive, 41-spot leap compared to last month. It's followed by Vancouver, WA (#3 in the West and #15 in the U.S.); Reno, NV (which dropped six positions to #23 nationwide, while also ranking #4 in the region); Portland, OR (#5 in the West and #24 in the U.S.); and Riverside, CA (#6 in the region and #30 in the U.S.).

On the opposite coast, the Northeast lost some ground this month with only one city making it into the top 30 again: Philadelphia remains the most in-demand city in the region, although it dropped to #8 in the U.S.

Meet the newcomers: Knoxville, TN, leads the popularity surge in Southern cities, with Arlington, VA, skyrocketing in the rankings

October introduces seven new cities to our top 30 most in-demand renting spots, with the majority located in the South. Leading the way is Knoxville, TN, which returns to the list for the first time since June after climbing 37 spots since last month.

More impressively, Arlington, VA, skyrocketed through the ranking by a whopping 128 positions to now rank 17th. This is especially remarkable as the city hasn’t appeared in the top 30 since the beginning of this year. Plus, even though there’s been a dip in online engagement — which has led to a 30% increase in available listings — saved searches by users on RentCafe.com dropped by a whopping 75% year-over-year and favorited listings declined by 31%. This suggests that prospective renters are very decisive when it comes to securing apartments in Arlington.

Also joining the top 30 are Charlotte, NC; Newport News, VA; and Baltimore, each rising in the rankings by nine, seven and 16 positions, respectively. Making their debuts on the list, Newport News draws interest with its strong shipbuilding, defense, and tech sectors, whereas Baltimore attracts renters with its strategic location near major East Coast cities like Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington, D.C., as well as a diverse economy driven by education and health care.

Methodology

RentCafe.com is a nationwide apartment search website that enables renters to easily find apartments and houses for rent throughout the U.S.

To compile this report, the research team analyzed RentCafe.com’s rental listing data across the 150 largest cities by population in the contiguous U.S. with a relevant listing inventory sample. The regions are defined according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The cities were ranked based on a city-level rental activity score. Full points were awarded to the most desirable city for a particular metric, while the zero-point level was set slightly below the worst city’s value. Cities that lacked sufficient information regarding specific metrics were awarded zero points.

Beginning in August 2023, the city that obtained the highest total score was awarded 100 points and all total scores of the following cities were adjusted accordingly.

To calculate each city’s score, we ranked them according to four metrics and their averages as of the most current month in 2024 versus the same month in 2023.

1. Availability Rate (Maximum score: 40 points)

The availability rate score was calculated by dividing the total vacant units at the city level for the most recent month by the total units and a year-over-year comparison of the same. The lowest rate received maximum points.

2. Page Views (Maximum score: 30 points)

The page views score was calculated as the total number of monthly page views for the most recent month at the city level divided by the total renter population in the city and a year-over-year comparison of the same. Page views are defined as a unique user interaction on a specific page in a 30-minute window.

3. Favorites (Maximum score: 15 points)

The favorites score was calculated as the total monthly rental listings added to favorites at the city level for the most current month divided by the total renter population in the city and a year-over-year comparison of the same. A favorite is defined as a rental listing saved to favorites by a website visitor.

4. Saved Searches (Maximum score: 15 points)

The saved searches score was calculated as the total number of monthly saved searches at the city level for the most current month divided by the total renter population in the city and a year-over-year comparison of the same. A saved search is defined as a filtered/personalized apartment search saved by a website visitor.

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