RentCafe’s brand-new monthly rental activity report is here, based on proprietary data from our listing website, RentCafe.com. In April, renters intensely searched for rental apartments in Phoenix, and marked as favorite a great number of properties, making it one of the most desired cities by renters. That said, Phoenix gained a spot among the most in-demand U.S. cities by Arizona renters. 


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To compile this top, our research team analyzed rental listing data and millions of user interactions. There are four aspects taken into consideration, apartment availability and rental search in a city compared to a year ago. Also, to measure renters’ intent, we factored in the number of saved searches and properties added to favorites.  

Phoenix landed the 38th spot, up 30 places since March, a clear indicator of renters’ strong interest in finding a place in this vibrant city. 

• In April, Arizona renters marked as favorites three times (223%) as many apartments in Phoenix compared to the same time last year.  

• What’s more, availability in Phoenix dropped 5% year-over-year, while saved searches increased slightly. 

• Statewide, most cities in Arizona have a score above 50 due to a high engagement on RentCafe.com, ranking very close to Phoenix – Chandler #37, Tucson #39, Scottsdale, #42 and Tempe #45.  

Elsewhere around the country:

• In April, Atlanta is the most desired city by renters in the U.S., with the highest search activity on RentCafe.com.

• Apartment listings in Kansas City, MO, and Albuquerque, NM, came in second and third place, according to RentCafe.com listings activity data.

• Detroit landed in fourth place with the highest climb in rankings compared to March, and Manhattan wraps up the top five.