District of Columbia

Overview of Findings

Apartment List has released results for Washington DC from the second annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. The survey, which drew on responses from over 30,000 renters, provides insight into what states and cities must do to meet the needs of the 105 million American renters nationwide.

“Renters in DC seem to be very satisfied with their city overall,” says Andrew Woo, Director of Data Science at Apartment List. “They gave average or above average scores in many categories, though they would like to see some changes in others.”

Key findings in DC include the following:

• DC renters gave their city an A- overall for satisfaction.
• The highest-rated categories for Washington DC were its local jobs and career opportunities and access to public transit, which both received A’s.
• Other well-rated categories included commute times (B), weather (B-), and access to parks (B+).
• Some of the larger concerns for DC renters included quality of local schools (C-), state and local taxes (C-), safety (C), and affordability/cost of living (D).
• Millennial renters seem to be relatively well satisfied with life in Washington DC, with this specific group giving the area a B+ overall.
• Relative to other cities like New York (B) and Philadelphia (B), DC did quite well, and came in close behind other cities like Boston (A+).
• The top rated cities nationwide for renter satisfaction included Arlington, VA; Lincoln, NE; Pasadena, CA; Boston, MA; and Madison, WI. The lowest rated cities included Newark, NJ; Bronx, NY; Bridgeport, CT; Baltimore, MD; and Salinas, CA.