Overview of Findings
Apartment List has released San Francisco’s results from the third annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. This survey, which drew on responses from over 45,000 renters nationwide, provides insight on what states and cities must do to meet the needs of the country’s 111 million renters.
"San Francisco renters expressed general satisfaction with the city overall," according to Apartment List. "However, ratings varied greatly across different categories, indicating that even though renters love San Francisco, some aspects can be better."
Key Findings in San Francisco include the following:
- San Francisco renters gave their city a B+ overall.
- The highest-rated categories for San Francisco were social life, weather, and jobs and career opportunities, which all received A grades.
- The areas of concern to San Francisco renters are affordability (F), quality of local schools (D) and state and local taxes (D).
- San Francisco millennials are moderately satisfied with their city, giving it an overall rating of B-.
- San Francisco earned similar scores to other tech hubs, including Austin (A-), Denver (B+) and Seattle (B+)
- San Francisco did relatively well compared to similar cities nationwide, including Los Angeles (C+), Philadelphia (C+) and Miami (C+).
- 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:
- "I love the diverse food, ease of getting around, and all of the activities. But I hate the high cost of living." -Anon.
- "San Francisco is a diverse city where everyone has a fair opportunity to succeed. On the downside, it seems like crime is rising at an alarming rate." -Richard
- "I love the history, food, parks, and close places to go hiking. I hate that it’s so expensive and keeps getting more crowded." -Kandace B.
- "SF is a good mix of residential neighborhoods, urban areas, and natural beauty." -Katie F.
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.