Overview of Findings
Apartment List has released San Diego’s results from the third annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. This survey, which drew on responses from over 45,000 renters, provides insight on what states and cities must do to meet the needs of 111 million American renters nationwide.
"San Diego renters expressed general satisfaction with the city overall," according to Apartment List. "With expensive rents in coastal cities, it comes as no surprise that cost of living is a source of dissatisfaction in San Diego."
Key findings in San Diego include the following:
For bullet formatting use: * (with a space on each side)
- San Diego renters gave their city an A- overall.
- The highest-rated categories for San Diego were weather (A+), safety and low crime rate and recreational opportunities (which both received an A-).
- The areas of concern to San Diego renters are cost of living (D), public transit and jobs and career opportunities (which both received a C+).
- Millennial renters are very satisfied (A-), as are renters who are parents (A).
- San Diego did relatively well compared to other cities in California, including San Francisco (B+), Los Angeles (C+), and San Jose (C ).
- San Diego earned similar scores to other cities like Boston, MA (A), Washington, DC (A-) and Austin, TX (A-).
- The top rated cities nationwide for renter satisfaction include Scottsdale, AZ, Irvine, CA, Boulder, CO and Ann Arbor, MI. The lowest rated cities include Tallahassee, FL, Stockton, CA, Dayton, OH, Detroit, MI and Newark, NJ.
Renters say:
- "Great bars, restaurants and other businesses to patronize. Love the weather and the proximity to the ocean. Amazing beaches. Also people are very relaxed and friendly here." – Stacy H.
- "Love that it’s so close to the beach. Hate that it’s so expensive." – Anon.
- "I love how close it is to everything. The weather is always perfect, sunny and 75. There’s nothing I hate about San Diego!" – Callie B.
- "I love the weather, nightlife, and opportunities to meet people. Don’t like that the homelessness problem seems to be getting worse." – Bill K.
For more information on the survey methodology and findings or to speak to one of our researchers, please contact our team at rentonomics@apartmentlist.com.