It’s better to rent in this SC city than in any other in the US, new ranking shows. Here’s why

If you’re looking for a place to rent, you can’t do much better than Charleston in the U.S., a new ranking shows.

RentCafe’s annual study on the best cities for renters in 2023 has crowned Charleston as the top spot for 2023. The Holy City stood out because of its stock of new apartments, large rental spaces and the high number of jobs coming into the market on top of the low unemployment rate.

To help renters make an informed choice with the study, RentCafe analyzed data for around 140 cities by looking at 20 relevant metrics. Those metrics included apartment quality, local economy, traffic, air quality and natural amenities. The metrics were then grouped into three categories: cost of living and housing, local economy and quality of life.

“Notably, the port city has made a name for itself on the IT scene as a fast-emerging tech hub by being home to more than 250 tech companies, thus ranking fifth when it comes to local economy,” RentCafe said of Charleston. “Here, the suburban feel offers renters the advantages of living in a big city, without compromising on factors such as air quality or natural amenities.”

Here’s how Charleston ranks in all categories:

#3 for Cost of living & housing

• Charleston ranked high in this category mainly because it has a newer stock of apartments than other cities – 29% of Charleston’s apartments were built in the last five years, which is the fourth largest share in the U.S. Also, the average renter in the city enjoys a generous amount of rental space — 967 square feet.

#5 for Local economy

• The number of job openings in Charleston is up 6% since last year – the highest job growth rate in all of the U.S. Also, only 3.4% of the city’s population is unemployed, which is the fifth lowest share nationwide. That makes sense, given that 56% of Charlestonians have a higher-education degree.

#62 for Quality of life

• Despite ranking lower in this category, Charleston offers a better quality of life than most of the analyzed cities, as renters here spend an average number of hours in traffic — 26 hours per year — and enjoy fresh air 83% of the time. By contrast, the metrics that pushed the city lower in the quality of life category are a large share of car users — 75% — and a lower 16% of apartments placed in top locations.

Top 10 cities to rent in 2023

1. Charleston, SC
2. Plano, TX
3. Scottsdale, AZ
4. Atlanta, GA
5. Raleigh, NC
6. Round Rock, TX
7. Austin, TX
8. Charlotte, NC
9. Conroe, TX
10. Arlington, VA

This story was originally published June 24, 2023 at 6:00 AM.

Patrick McCreless

The State

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Patrick McCreless is the Southeast service journalism editor for McClatchy, who leads and edits a team of six reporters in South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. The team writes about trending news of the day and topics that help readers in their daily lives and better informs them about their communities. He attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama and grew up in Tuscaloosa, AL.