Overview of Findings
Apartment List has released Bellevue’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.
"Bellevue 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 Bellevue, some aspects can be better."
Key findings in Bellevue include the following:
- Bellevue renters gave their city an A+ overall.
- The highest-rated categories for Bellevue were jobs and career opportunities, safety and low crime rate, and commute time, which all received A+ grades.
- The areas of concern to Bellevue renters are social life (F) and affordability (C+).
- Bellevue did relatively well compared to other cities in Washington, including Seattle (B+), Spokane (C+) and Tacoma (C+).
- Bellevue did relatively well compared to other cities nationwide, including Los Angeles, CA (C+), New York, NY (C+) and Miami, FL (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 that it is safe and close to my job. But I am a married woman living with roommates because I could never afford living in Bellevue without my spouse and I having assistance." – Ashlee C.
- "Safe for a big city. Lots of opportunities. Bad traffic and the cost of living is too expensive for a single person." – Anon.
- "I love the weather and the greenery! I live very close to the city but still feel like I can get away from it all when I go home." – Jess T.
- "Bellevue’s beautiful, but the people here are set in their ways and it can be difficult to make friends." – Suzii G.
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.