RentCafe: In Shift, Detroit Tops List of Most Sought-After City for Renters

(Image courtesy of RentCafe)

RentCafe, Santa Barbara, Calif., released its Rental Activity Report for September, finding Detroit took the top spot.

RentCafe compiles its report based on interactions on its website, and takes into account data such as availability of apartments, listing views, apartments saved as favorites and personalized sources.

No. 2 was Washington D.C., followed by Minneapolis–last month’s top city.

Fourth was Atlanta, followed by Cleveland to round out the top five.

The rest of the top ten were Philadelphia, Fayetteville, N.C., Winston-Salem, N.C., Chicago and Cincinnati.

Regionally, the South has overtaken the West in popularity, with 11 entries in the top 30 most sought-after cities. The West still ranks second, with nine spots, and the Midwest has eight cities. The Northeast has only two cities on the top 30 list.

The list featured some newcomers in September. Tampa, Fla., appeared for the first time, at No. 21. Jacksonville, Fla., also made the list for the first time, at 30.

There was renewed interest in a few other cities that had fallen off the list in the past–including Hialeah, Fla., at No. 29. Hialeah hadn’t been in the top 30 over the past year. Newark, N.J. saw a similar rise, landing at No. 18 after improving by 53 spots.