Study: Tacoma Among Worst Cities To Rent In America

TACOMA, WA — Tacoma is not a great place for renters, at least according to a new study from WalletHub.

That study, released this week ranked over 180 rental markets based on 24 quality of life factors like the rent-to-price ratio, public safety and the cost of living. Those were then boiled down into two scores a "Rental Market & Affordability Rank" and a "Quality of Life" rank, which were weighed together to create the overall ranking.

Unfortunately for Tacoma, the city performed poorly both in quality of life and affordability, coming in 118th and 165th place respectively, putting it near the bottom of the list. According to the study, the ten worst cities to rent in America are:

1. Hialeah, FL
2. Huntington, WV
3. Memphis, TN
4. Cleveland, OH
5. Detroid, MI
6. Miami, FL
7. Jackson, MS
8. Gulfport, MS
9. Augusta, GA
10. Tacoma, WA

For the record, Seattle did do better but not stellar: it was ranked #142 out of the 182 cities studied, putting it in the bottom 40 for renters. Other Washington cities on the list included Spokane, which ranked 94th best, and Vancouver, which was saddled between Seattle and Tacoma in 152nd place.

A large factor in the study is the simple cost of living, perhaps explaining why many of the top ranked cities were otherwise smaller, less expensive towns in the midwest, as opposed to the expensive, poorly scoring cities on the coast.

According to the study, the best places to rent in America are:

1. Bismarck, ND
2. Lewiston, ME
3. Lincoln, NE
4. Rapid City, SD
5. Sioux Falls, SD
6. Portland, ME
7. Cedar Rapids, IA
8. Fargo, ND
9. Fremont, CA
10. Scottsdale, AZ

Find the full ranking of all cities and the methodology behind the study here.