- Overland Park has seen a sudden surge in RentCafe.com page views, favored listings, and saved searches.
- The Kansas City suburb saw a 256% increase in page views and a 138% increase in favorited listings over the past year.
- Minneapolis, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C. round out the top five most popular cities for renters.
A recent analysis of RentCafe.com data revealed that Overland Park, Kansas, is now the most desired city in the country for apartment renters. Its top employer? T-Mobile.
By the numbers
The suburb southwest of Kansas City took the top spot away from Minneapolis, last year’s frontrunner, based on pageviews (+256%), favorited listings (+138%), and saved searches (+67%).
But although Minneapolis got knocked down a peg in April, it also enjoyed more pageviews (+133%) and saved searches (+47%) this year. Atlanta took third place, maintaining a steady level of interest despite limited listings (+1%).
Meanwhile, Cleveland and Washington, D.C. rounded out the top five cities in the country.
Regional Preferences
A deeper look at the data reveals balanced renter preferences across different U.S. regions.
The West and South are currently the most sought-after regions for renters, each boasting nine cities in the rankings. The Midwest followed closely behind, thanks in part to the rising popularity of relatively unknown suburbs like Overland Park.
Why It Matters
If you haven’t heard of Overland Park, you’re certainly not alone. The shift in top-ranked cities for apartment renters towards relatively unknown Midwestern metros seems to indicate that the American Dream is slipping further away. Renters are looking everywhere they can for more affordable spaces for their growing families.
