Overview of Findings
Apartment List has released Portland’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.
"Portland 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 Portland, some aspects can be better."
Key Findings in Portland include the following:
- Portland renters gave their city a B overall.
- The highest-rated categories for Portland were pet-friendliness and public transit, which both received scores of A.
- The areas of concern to Portland renters are affordability and commute time, which received D and C scores, respectively.
- Portland millennials are moderately satisfied with their city, giving it an overall rating of B.
- Portland did relatively well compared to other Pacific Northwest cities like Spokane (C+) and Tacoma (C+), but earned lower marks than Seattle (B+) and Beaverton (B+).
- Portland did relatively poorly compared to similar cities nationwide, including Austin (A-), Nashville (A-) and Boston (A).
- 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:
- "There are so many activities both in and outside of the city. Unfortunately, rent is skyrocketing and traffic is getting worse." -Nolan B.
- "People love living in Portland, which makes it a happy, fun environment. However, people love it so much that it’s crowded and expensive, too." -Chelsea C.
- "I love how green and vibrant everything is, especially in the summer. I also like the laid-back atmosphere." -Ashley M.
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.