Overview of Findings
Apartment List has released Pasadena’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.
"Pasadena 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 Pasadena, some aspects can be better."
Key findings in Pasadena include the following:
- Pasadena renters gave their city an A+ overall.
- The highest-rated categories for Pasadena were social life, recreational activities and pet-friendliness, which all received A+ grades.
- The areas of concern to Pasadena renters are affordability and state and local taxes, which both received C grades.
- Pasadena did relatively well compared to nearby cities, including Los Angeles (C+), Anaheim (C) and Long Beach (C+).
- Pasadena did relatively well compared to other cities nationwide, including Seattle, WA (B+), Phoenix, AZ (B-) and New York, NY (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 how walkable the city is. I love the safety and the attitudes of the people. However, not all parts of Pasadena are equally safe." – Shaili K.
- "It’s a nice suburb, but housing is too expensive." – Namita S.
- "I love the family-like culture and the community where most people are nice. It is very safe and pet-friendly to live here. But I don’t like the rent prices. They are too high, especially if you are young or in college and working in retail. It’s hard to afford a place by yourself." – Payton A.
- "I love that I’m local to shops and restaurants. I hate the limitations on street parking, though. You need permits to park anywhere, unless you buy a temporary one and the kiosks aren’t always easy to find." – Marie C.
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.
