These are the ‘best' US cities for renters right now — with one region far from NYC dominating the top 10
A new report ranking the renter friendliness of 150 U.S. cities based on the cost of living, the local economy and the overall quality of life completely ignores the Big Apple and environs.
Instead, a slew of southern metro regions swept the annual RentCafe rankings — leaving crowded Northeast and West Coast locales in the dust.
Advertisement
5 Southern renters largely enjoy a lower cost of living than their regional counterparts.
Monkey Business – stock.adobe.com
'Cost of living, which is heavily weighted, really improved for southern cities,' said Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, which provides data to RentCafe.
The South not only dominated the report's leading ten slots, but took up an impressive three-quarters of the top 50, as well.
Advertisement
Metros in Texas, Florida and Georgia occupied the podium, with McKinney, Texas, reigning supreme.
Ressler told The Post that while public transportation offered a rankings boost for well-connected northern cities, their southern counterparts pulled ahead thanks to strong post-pandemic recovery and increased work-from-home offerings.
McKinney, a booming Dallas suburb, offers renters 'big-city perks in a small-town setting,' according to the report — including a lower-than-average cost of living, a strong job market and ample green space.
5 McKinney, a northern suburb of Dallas, came out on top of the rankings.
Jacob – stock.adobe.com
Advertisement
Nearly 35% of McKinney's rental inventory was built in the last five years, and 83% of units are considered 'high-end.'
Beachy Sarasota, FL and bustling Atlanta earned second and third place, respectively.
The RentCafe rankings were filtered by three main metrics: Cost of living and housing, the local economy and quality of life. While some cities offered excellent job growth, others excelled thanks to ample green space or short commute times.
Advertisement
Sorting for these considerations reveals a vastly different geography of hot spots.
While Myrtle Beach took first place for cost of living and housing, Miami won out for its thriving local economy.
5 Pedestrians pass through a tunnel at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, where budget-friendly options and income growth offer young renters an attractive home.
AP
5 Myrtle Beach, SC scored highly on cost of living and housing.
Wollwerth Imagery – stock.adobe.com
Metropolitan Washington, D.C. ranked number one for quality of life for an impressive second year in a row.
Top US 10 cities for renters in 2025
McKinney, TX Sarasota, FL Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Huntsville, AL Wilmington, NC Charleston, SC Round Rock, TX Raleigh, NC Orlando, FL
Despite a poor overall showing, shoebox apartments in popular East Coast cities remain a hot commodity. Renters still faithfully flock to places like Philadelphia and Boston to enjoy rich cultural and social lives, despite steeper costs.
5 Despite eye-watering housing costs, plenty of renters still aspire to live in crowded Northeast cities.
Home-stock – stock.adobe.com
Advertisement
To little surprise, an increasingly-costly Manhattan ranked last in housing and cost of living — the most heavily weighted metric in RentCafe's rental report.
Brooklyn and Queens also floundered near the bottom of the list.
The greatest city in the world, however, did rank fifth for quality of life and seventh for economic benefits.
Take that, Myrtle Beach!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
These are the ‘best' US cities for renters right now — with one region far from NYC dominating the top 10
Fly south, apartment hunters. A new report ranking the renter friendliness of 150 U.S. cities based on the cost of living, the local economy and the overall quality of life completely ignores the Big Apple and environs. Instead, a slew of southern metro regions swept the annual RentCafe rankings — leaving crowded Northeast and West Coast locales in the dust. 'Cost of living, which is heavily weighted, really improved for southern cities,' said Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, which provides data to RentCafe. The South not only dominated the report's leading ten slots, but took up an impressive three-quarters of the top 50, as well. Metros in Texas, Florida and Georgia occupied the podium, with McKinney, Texas, reigning supreme. Ressler told The Post that while public transportation offered a rankings boost for well-connected northern cities, their southern counterparts pulled ahead thanks to strong post-pandemic recovery and increased work-from-home offerings. McKinney, a booming Dallas suburb, offers renters 'big-city perks in a small-town setting,' according to the report — including a lower-than-average cost of living, a strong job market and ample green space. Nearly 35% of McKinney's rental inventory was built in the last five years, and 83% of units are considered 'high-end.' Beachy Sarasota, FL and bustling Atlanta earned second and third place, respectively. The RentCafe rankings were filtered by three main metrics: Cost of living and housing, the local economy and quality of life. While some cities offered excellent job growth, others excelled thanks to ample green space or short commute times. Sorting for these considerations reveals a vastly different geography of hot spots. While Myrtle Beach took first place for cost of living and housing, Miami won out for its thriving local economy. Metropolitan Washington, D.C. ranked number one for quality of life for an impressive second year in a row. McKinney, TX Sarasota, FL Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Huntsville, AL Wilmington, NC Charleston, SC Round Rock, TX Raleigh, NC Orlando, FL Despite a poor overall showing, shoebox apartments in popular East Coast cities remain a hot commodity. Renters still faithfully flock to places like Philadelphia and Boston to enjoy rich cultural and social lives, despite steeper costs. To little surprise, an increasingly-costly Manhattan ranked last in housing and cost of living — the most heavily weighted metric in RentCafe's rental report. Brooklyn and Queens also floundered near the bottom of the list. The greatest city in the world, however, did rank fifth for quality of life and seventh for economic benefits. Take that, Myrtle Beach!
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
Student loan borrowers could see payments spike under Trump's ‘big, beautiful' bill: ‘People are panicking right now'
Student loan borrowers could see their monthly payments spike under President Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill — which would cut down a handful of repayment options to just two. Changes under the GOP spending bill will hit borrowers taking out loans next summer and any point after – as well as the 8 million Americans stuck in limbo on the Biden-era SAVE plan, also known as Saving on a Valuable Education, which has been on a repayment pause for a year. Under the proposed budget, which is awaiting final approval in the House, a typical borrower will see their monthly student loan payments jump by hundreds of dollars, according to an analysis from research nonprofit Student Borrower Protection Center. 3 Sens. John Barrasso, John Thune and Mike Crapo speak to reporters following the budget approval on Tuesday. AP 'People are panicking right now. I am getting the calls, the emails from friends and family members to strangers. People are naturally really super scared,' Erica Sandberg, consumer finance expert at told The Post. The most drastic change is the end of the SAVE plan, which is used by millions of low- and middle-income Americans in debt. Monthly payments for this plan are calculated as 10%, 15% or 20% of a borrower's discretionary income. Its Trump-era replacement, the Repayment Assistance Plan or RAP, will calculate monthly costs as between 1% to 10% of a borrower's discretionary income. That might sound like an improvement – but unlike SAVE, this new plan does not use a payment cap, meaning many could end up paying a higher cut of their income than they previously did. 'There's some misinterpretation of who is in those low-income budgets,' said Sandberg, adding that her sister, a college professor with knowledge of the financial system, used the SAVE plan and now has to pivot or foot a higher bill. The only other option for borrowers if the GOP bill passes would be the standard plan, which already exists but will see some tweaks. The new standard plan will give borrowers a fixed monthly payment to have their loans paid off between 10 to 25 years, depending on the size of the loans. 3 The GOP spending bill will leave borrowers with two options: the Repayment Assistance Plan or the standard plan. REUTERS The current standard plan uses a 10-year period, regardless of loan size. 'Now you actually do have an option with those standard plans,' Sandberg told The Post, though she warned borrowers to use caution when selecting a repayment plan. 'The one that offers the lowest payments may not be to your financial benefit. Are you going to be in debt for twice the amount of time and more than twice the amount in finance fees?' Borrowers will also lose the ability to petition for their remaining balance to be waived after 25 years under the new plans, Sandberg said. 3 President Trump, accompanied by House Speaker Mike Johnson, speaks to reporters in May. Getty Images But these changes are still up in the air, as the budget – which narrowly passed the Senate Tuesday – heads to the House for final approval, which Trump is expecting on his desk by a self-imposed Fourth of July deadline. In the meantime, borrowers should focus on keeping their accounts in good standing. That means working with a lender on forbearances or deferments if it's impossible for you to make payments on time, Sandberg said. Fearful student loan borrowers should use calculators, like the government's loan simulator on and 'try to fit your budget within the most feasible and affordable plan for you,' she said. Explore Student Loan Lenders SoFi SoFi offers student loan refinancing and private loan options with competitive interest rates, flexible repayment terms, and no hidden fees. It's a popular choice for those looking to save on interest or monthly payments. With added perks like career coaching, financial planning tools, SoFi goes beyond lending to support long-term financial wellness. Learn More College Ave College Ave simplifies the student loan process with customizable repayment plans, competitive fixed or variable interest rates, and a quick, hassle-free online application. Whether you're taking out a new loan or refinancing, the company offers flexible terms and helpful tools to fit your budget, making it a smart option for students and parents alike. Learn More Sallie Mae Sallie Mae offers private student loans with a variety of repayment options, no origination fees, and competitive interest rates tailored to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Sallie Mae also provides tools, scholarships, and credit-building opportunities to manage education costs with confidence. Learn More New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click/buy something through our links.
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
Meet the $100K robodog Spot that patrols a Long Island construction site
See Spot run — a job site. A Long Island construction project has recruited a $100,000 mechanical mutt to walk the premises, ensuring maximum efficiency and safety for workers building the new wing of South Shore Hospital in Bay Shore. 'I would say it's a morale booster,' Suffolk Construction's Adam Fyrer, who handles the state-of-the-art Boston Dynamics-made robotic dog — aptly named Spot — told The Post. 3 Suffolk Construction is using a state-of-the-art mechanical dog to walk around the premises of South Shore Hospital keeping workers safe while installing a new wing for the building. Dennis A. Clark 'I think a lot of people haven't seen this kind of technology in person. It's something that excites them to come to work.' Rather than doing tricks, Spot's primary focus on the future site of a six-story building that will feature almost 100 new patient rooms is both worker and structural safety, according to Fyrer, who uses the bot on other projects as well. Spot primarily conducts walkthroughs on the property that would conventionally be delegated to someone like a project manager, to create a 'Google Street'-esque map that owners can refer to upon the job's completion. 'The benefit of that is you get it more accurate and continuously throughout the job cycle,' Fyrer said, adding that Spot's trips take off about an hour of labor a day at the Northwell Health facility. Dog days The yellow-and-black construction companion, which can run on a lithium-ion battery for approximately 90 minutes at a time, is also capable of self-navigating around obstacles or people on the move. 'It's intelligent as well,' Fyrer said of the 75-pound device that can go up and down stairs with ease. 'It will be able to say, 'hey, there's something there,' then stop, wait for it to pass, and then it will continue on its path — or it will find another way to go around that.' 3 The $100,000 mechanical mutt has been seen as 'a morale booster,' says Suffolk Construction's Adam Fyrer. Dennis A. Clark Camera technology inside Spot can also be harnessed to identify any workers who aren't adhering to safety codes on a job by detecting blatant violations, such as not wearing hard hats. 'Then we can trigger a conversation with that person.' Clients like Northwell are also more than satisfied to see things propelled into the next generation, too. 'It's nice to see a company thinking outside the box and bringing new technology in,' Vinod Nair, the hospital's vice president of operations, said. 'As well as embracing higher, sophisticated technologies in the industry.' 3 Spot, the name of the Boston Dynamics-made robotic dog is primarily used to conduct walkthroughs as Fryer also mentions the benefits of having the robot takes off about an hour of labor per day. Dennis A. Clark Spot is also built to endure, according to Fyrer, who called the robot 'extremely rugged.' 'Boston Dynamics did a phenomenal job building this system…it can take a hit,' he said. 'Lighter people have sat on it.' Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Man's best friend The robodog is also brought to area schools for demonstrations on what it can mean for their generation of technology and the workforce. Fyrer maintains that advances like Spot won't be stealing jobs, but making employees' lives much easier. 'Look at some of the guys who were in the industry for 50, 60 years,' he said. ''They're like, yeah, if I had something that was able to help me do my job, that was a robot, or assistive in nature, that would have saved my job and longevity.'' However, at least in Bay Shore, more workers seem more obsessed than afraid, as several ran up to check out and interact with Spot during a Tuesday site walkthrough. 'That's why we usually have to run him at night when hardly anyone is here,' Fyrer joked.
