This CA County Beat San Diego as The Hardest Place to Find an Apartment
If you’re hunting for a place to live in California, you’ll want to be aware of the hardest place to find an apartment in the state. But, for once, it isn’t San Diego.
On Thursday, RentCafe released a report that listed the hottest rental markets in the country. Basically, the website ranked how hard it was to find an apartment in specific counties and regions across the United States. It also analyzed and ranked rental markets in specific states, like California.
Per the report, there’s actually good news for people planning on moving to San Diego. Although America’s Finest City has long dominated lists like these, one California county beat out San Diego this year.
At the start of 2024, Orange County actually ranked as the hardest place to find an apartment across California. Nationally, OC ranked number 11. Compare that to San Diego, which came in second in the California ranking and 18th nationally.
On a national scale, RentCafe noted that Miami, Florida was actually the hardest place to find an apartment nationally. Miami was followed by Milwaukee, Wisconsin; North Jersey, New Jersey; Suburban Chicago; and Grand Rapids, Michigan, in that order.
As far as how the rental website created the rankings, they based the list on a “competitiveness score.” Basically, the site used five metrics to determine how competitive a rental market was, including:
- The number of days apartments were vacant
- The percentage of apartments that were occupied by renters
- The number of prospective renters competing for an apartment
- The percentage of renters who renewed their leases
- The share of new apartments completed recently
It’s worth noting that although it’s easier to find an apartment in San Diego than other places, you’ll be forking over a good chunk of your paycheck since the city ranks as one of the most expensive in the U.S.
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