Overview of Findings
Apartment List has released San Jose’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 Jose renters expressed general dissatisfaction with the city overall," according to Apartment List. "Some categories received average scores, and many received below average scores."
Key findings in San Jose include the following:
- San Jose renters gave their city a C overall.
- The highest-rated categories for San Jose were weather (A) and jobs and career opportunities (B).
- The areas of concern to San Jose renters are commute time and affordability, which both received F grades.
- Millennial renters are very unsatisfied with their city, giving it an overall rating of F.
- San Jose did comparably to other cities in California, including Sacramento and Anaheim, which both received C grades.
- San Jose earned similar scores to Baltimore, MD, Albuquerque, NM and Orlando, FL, which all received C grades.
- 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 parks and restaurants in downtown San Jose. I hate that many apartments aren’t pet-friendly and most don’t have air conditioning. It gets hot in San Jose!" – Meghan M.
- "I love the diversity but hate how expensive it is to live here." – Jessica B.
- "It’s easy to get around and there are lots of things to do, but it’s not very affordable." - Anna A.
- "San Jose is still one of the safest cities to live in, but the cost of living is a joke" – Andrea H.
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.
