Overview of Findings
Apartment List has released Knoxville’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.
"Knoxville renters expressed general satisfaction with the city overall," according to Apartment List. "Some categories received above average scores, and many received average scores."
Key findings in Knoxville include the following:
- Knoxville renters gave their city a B- overall.
- The highest-rated categories for Knoxville were affordability (A+), weather (A) and jobs and career opportunities (A).
- The areas of concern to Knoxville renters are recreational activities (C+) and public transit (C).
- Knoxville did relatively poorly compared to other Tennessee cities like Nashville (A-) but relatively well compared to Memphis (C).
- Knoxville did relatively well compared to other cities nationwide, including Miami, FL (C+), New York, NY (C+) and Los Angeles, CA (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:
- "Overall I love it, but it’s very spread out and that can make it hard to enjoy everything." – Hayley H.
- "I love the proximity to outdoor activities. There’s lots to do and the growing coffee and craft brewery scene is great. But traffic can be surprisingly bad for such a small town, especially where the three highways meet." – Jill B.
- "Love that people are friendly and there are lots of places to eat. But I hate that jobs seem to be low-income and traffic can be bad." – Frank J.
- "Love the mountains and trails being so close. Tons of nature parks. But I hate that the sales taxes are so high." – Samantha 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.
