{"id":59098,"date":"2018-06-21T12:16:40","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T19:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rentcafe.com\/blog\/?p=59098"},"modified":"2026-04-21T01:28:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T08:28:28","slug":"location-preferences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rentcafe.com\/blog\/rental-market\/location-preferences\/","title":{"rendered":"Survey: Cost Barrier Keeps Over 80 Percent of Renters Away from Their Ideal Location, Their Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

Job growth in and near downtown areas is\u00a0seeing peak levels, with major employers like McDonald’s in Chicago<\/a> and GE in Boston\u00a0<\/a>relocating their headquarters from the suburbs to the city cores<\/a> to have direct access to young intellectual capital and to attract tech-savvy Millennial talent. Such changes are forging a stronger bond between jobs and residential and commercial development.\u00a0\u00a0But in spite of the construction boom, not everyone can afford to live in an ideal location, close to where the jobs are, and especially not Millennial renters.<\/p>\n

Less than 17% of\u00a0<\/strong>over 2,000 renters we recently surveyed said they live close to their ideal location, leaving 83% of renters living in less than ideal locations<\/strong>, and the cost of rent was listed as their no. 1 concern. Our survey also found that the ‘ideal location’ for most renters is near their job<\/strong>, ahead of living close to friends and family, or near attractions such as entertainment, dining, shopping or a gym. Moreover,\u00a060% of respondents stated that they are not able to pay anything more than the rent they are already paying (16.4% of respondents) or a maximum of $100 more (43.2% of respondents) to live in their preferred location. This reality rings true especially for Millennials, who make up over 70% of our survey respondents.<\/p>\n

\"Rent<\/p>\n

A location upgrade costs over 4 times as much as what most renters are willing to pay<\/h3>\n

An ideal location typically refers to apartments in or near central neighborhoods (although not always), which also happen to overlap with most cities’ central business districts with high concentrations of jobs, as well as more entertainment, shopping,\u00a0and dining within walking distance. But the cost of land tends to be high in those locations, which drags up the price of rent.\u00a0Nationally, the average rent charged by buildings in top-rated locations is $1,655\/month, 37% more than the national average rent of $1,211 charged in lower-rated locations, a difference of\u00a0$444 per month<\/strong>, according to rent data and\u00a0location ratings by Yardi Matrix<\/a>. Based on the survey responses illustrated above, the percentage of renters who can afford the price of a location upgrade is very very low.<\/p>\n

The $444 rent gap comes from comparing average rents in apartments in top-notch locations rated A+\/A\/A-\/B+ and apartments in average and below-average locations rated B\/B-\/C\/D.\u00a0Some of the attributes that earn a property location top ratings are close proximity to a high concentration of good employment sources, high-quality mix of immediate area housing, shopping, and entertainment, and ease of access. Among the attributes that lower a location’s rating are\u00a0a low availability of quality area employment, limited or deteriorated commercial development in the area, and inconvenient access.<\/p>\n

In Chicago and 5 other cities renters pay over 50% more for their ideal location<\/h3>\n