Multifamily developers in Lincoln, Nebraska, should be smiling: A popular financial Web site just listed the city as one of the best places for renters in the United States.
And that’s a bit of a rarity, as more Midwest cities ranked near the bottom of WalletHub’s list as ranked anywhere near the top.
WalletHub ranked Lincoln as the fifth-best major city for renters, and the best in the Midwest. The Nebraska city trailed only four cities in Arizona: Scottsdale, Peoria, Gilbert and Chandler.
WalletHub compared the 150 largest rental markets in the United States based on 21 measures of living quality. These metrics range from an area’s cost of living to the jobs available in it and average rental prices.
Lincoln wasn’t the only city in the Midwest to rank high in WalletHub’s study. Overland Park, Kansas, ranked eighth on WalletHub’s list, while Omaha came in ninth. There was a bit of a dip after that, with Madison, Wisconsin, coming in 33rd place and Des Moines, Iowa, pulling up in the 40th spot.
Midwest cities, though, were, unfortunately, plentiful near the bottom of WalletHub’s list, with Cleveland ranked as the 150th – or worst – major city for renters and Detroit ranked 149th. Memphis came in at 147, while Toledo, Ohio, came in at 144th.
The Midwest’s biggest city, Chicago, ranked 93rd on WalletHub’s list.
WalletHub also broke down their apartment rankings into smaller groups. When it comes to the greatest number of affordable rentals, Overland Park ranked second and Lincoln 4th. Memphis had the second-lowest median rent growth forecast, while Detroit had the third. Memphis also ranked fourth in WalletHub’s list of cities with the highest apartment vacancy rates.
Memphis and Knoxville, Tennessee, ranked second and third when it came to having the lowest cost of living.
