Bismarck, North Dakota, ranked first among more than 180 as the best market for rental housing in WalletHub’s 2024 Best & Worst Places to Rent survey.
For this year’s survey, WalletHub number-crunched 21 indicators of rental attractiveness, ranging from the difference between rental rates and mortgage payments to rental affordability, the cost of living, job availability and quality of life issues – including the availability of local bedbug laws. Bismarck had the highest rental affordability, with the lowest median annual gross rent divided by median annual household income at 15.30%.
Rounding out the list’s top five cities for renters were Overland Park, Kansas (which topped last year’s list); Scottsdale, Arizona; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Lewiston, Maine. At the other end of the spectrum, Memphis was named the worst city for renters – the other bottom dwellers on the list included Detroit; Cleveland; Tacoma, Washington; and Jackson, Mississippi.
Augusta, Georgia, had the highest rental vacancy rate, which is 8.8 times higher than in Nashua, New Hampshire, the city with the lowest. Newark, New Jersey, had the highest share of renter-occupied housing units, which is 4.4 times higher than in Port St. Lucie, Florida, the city with the lowest.
Brownsville, Texas, had the lowest cost-of-living index, which is 2.4 times lower than in Honolulu and Pearl City, Hawaii, the cities with the highest. And Irvine, California, had the fewest violent crimes (per 1,000 residents), which is 32.3 times fewer than in Memphis, the city with the most.
“In the best cities for renters, rent can cost you as little as around 15% of your income,” said Cassandra Happe, an analyst at WalletHub. “You’ll also have access to robust laws that protect renters, such as limiting deposits to only a month or two of rent.”
Photo: Downtown Bismarck Historic District by Magicpiano / Wikimedia Commons
;
