2 SC cities rank among top places for renters in the U.S., study says. Here’s why

Renting, in most cases, is the most affordable option in many metropolitan areas, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best choice in every city.

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Some areas are much less affordable and are not as welcoming to renters as in other cities. RentCafe, an apartment search website, recently analyzed 150 cities to determine which cities are the best for renters in America.

In South Carolina, two cities cracked the top 15. Here are the cities and why they ranked so high:

Best SC cities for renters

Greenville was named the best SC city for renters and ranked 10th overall in the country in RentCafe’s study. The average rent is 9.5% below the national average. Here’s where it ranks in the study’s three main categories:

• Housing & cost of living: 20th
• Local economy: 16th
• Quality of life: 28th

Charleston ranked right below Greenville and was named the 11th best city for renters. The average rent is 3.8% below the national average. Here’s where it ranks in the study’s three main categories:

• Housing & cost of living: 30th
• Local economy: 10th
• Quality of life: 49th

Both Greenville and Charleston were previously named among the top U.S. cities to live in by a different report from Travel + Leisure, a prominent travel magazine.

Columbia was the third and final SC city ranked by RentCafe, but the Palmetto State’s capital did not come close to the top. Columbia placed in the bottom half, ranking 83rd in the nation.

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Columbia ranks 63rd for quality of life, with a strong social association rate and only 17.5% of residents facing long solo commutes. Its weakest category is local economy (#125), driven by a higher unemployment rate and a more modest renter income growth of 21% over five years, according to the study. Columbia’s cost of living is 10.3% below the national average, at least.

Top 15 U.S. cities for renters

According to RentCafe, the following 15 cities are the best places for renters in the U.S.:

1. McKinney, TX
2. Huntsville, AL
3. Austin, TX
4. Wilmington, NC
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Raleigh, NC
7. Scottsdale, AZ
8. Round Rock, TX
9. Sarasota, FL
10. Greenville, SC
11. Charleston, SC
12. Orlando, FL
13. Gilbert, AZ
14. Miami, FL
15. Sioux Falls, NC

How cities were ranked

To determine the best cities for renters, the RentCafe analytics team used a composite index to compare cities across three main categories: cost of living & housing, local economy and quality of life.

The cost of living & housing category was 40% of the total score, and included the following metrics: cost of living & housing, apartment average size, apartment occupancy, share of new apartments, share of high-end apartments, share of renter-occupied households, market competitiveness, and RentCafe ILS Property Ratings.

Local economy was worth 35%: unemployment rate, share of population with higher-education degrees, renter household median income growth, job growth and number of business applications per 10,000 residents.

Quality of life was worth 25%: apartments in top locations, average school rating, long commutes driving alone, share of public transportation users & walking, natural amenity rank, average air quality and social association rate.

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