Alexandria Ranks In Top 50 Of Best Cities For Renters In U.S.

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria made a list of best cities for renters, although it didn't fare well in the cost of living and housing category when compared to others.

To determine the best cities for renters, apartment data resource RentCafe looked at 140 cities using 20 metrics. The metrics represented three categories: cost of living, local economy and quality of life.

Alexandria ranked 35th among the top 50 U.S. cities for renters. The city's ranking was helped by the local economy category with 1.6 percent job growth and a 3.2 percent unemployment rate, which was the fourth lowest among the cities. It also has a 65.2 percent share of highly educated residents and average $80,384 renter income, which is the fifth highest in the nation. Alexandria ranked 9th among cities in the local economy category alone.

In the quality of life category, Alexandria ranked 15th. RentCafe estimated Alexandria has 62.5 percent of apartments in top locations, estimated 53.9 percent share of car users, a natural amenity rank of two and 100 percent share of good air quality days. However, it was on the higher end of cities for commuting delays, as it had an average delay of 42 hours per car commuter annually.

The city fared the worst in the housing and cost of living category, ranking 120th. The metric with the most weight in this category was the cost of living index, which is 37.1 percent for Alexandria. By comparison, the top-ranked Charleston, South Carolina had a cost of living index of −2.1 percent.

In the cost of living and housing category, Alexandria has an estimated 94.7 percent occupancy rate, 9.3 percent share of new apartments, 40.5 percent share of high-end apartments, 870-square-foot average apartment size and $340 additional cost for another bedroom.

Charleston, South Carolina was the top-ranked city for renters, followed by Plano, Texas; Scottsdale, Arizona; Atlanta, Georgia; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Alexandria's Neighbor Arlington County ranked 10th.