50 Most Competitive Rental Markets in 2021

The nation’s hottest rental market in 2021: Eugene, Ore., according to a new end-of-the-year report from RentCafe. The city has been attracting new residents and boasts a rapidly growing tech sector. San Diego, Calif., and Knoxville, Tenn., were number two and number three on RentCafe’s list.

In 2021, the most competitive rental markets tended to be smaller metros that are within close proximity to nature and allow for a more affordable lifestyle, researchers note. Smaller towns are attracting newcomers who are moving away from densely populated metros ever since the pandemic began, RentCafe notes.

To rank the hottest rental markets, RentCafe evaluated 105 markets to measure competitiveness by looking at the number of days rentals were vacant, the percentage of apartments occupied, number of renters competing for vacant apartments, and rental applicants’ average credit scores. In Knoxville, vacant apartments are getting snatched up in less than 20 days.

Rank	Market	Competitive Score	Average Vacancy Days	Occupied Apartments	Prospective Renters	Credit Score
1	Eugene	15.2	24	96.9%	30	670
2	San Diego	17.4	26	97.0%	29	671
3	Knoxville	19.2	18	97.5%	36	645
4	Central Coast	21.8	27	97.7%	28	664
5	Sacramento	23.0	24	97.0%	23	653
6	Providence	23.4	27	97.4%	21	670
7	Lehigh Valley	23.6	24	97.5%	34	644
8	Tacoma	24.6	23	97.3%	24	644
9	Wilmington	25.8	22	96.2%	19	663
10	Orange County	26.6	29	97.0%	20	671
11	Pensacola	27.6	18	96.7%	25	639
12	Southwest Florida	31.0	24	96.6%	24	643
13	Eastern Los Angeles County	31.2	30	97.3%	28	654
14	Inland Empire	33.2	25	97.6%	28	636
15	Palm Beach County	35.0	26	96.7%	23	643
16	Miami-Dade County	35.2	26	96.2%	24	647
17	Omaha	35.4	25	96.3%	16	652
18	Grand Rapids	36.0	25	97.0%	22	637
19	Long Island	36.6	29	96.7%	13	673
20	Salt Lake City	37.4	23	96.1%	19	643

Rank	Market	Competitive Score	Average Vacancy Days	Occupied Apartments	Prospective Renters	Credit Score
21	Savannah	37.6	21	96.3%	20	636
22	El Paso	38.4	23	97.4%	24	626
23	Eastern Virginia	39.8	23	96.6%	20	632
24	The Triangle	40.8	25	95.8%	14	658
25	Bridgeport – New Haven	41.4	28	96.2%	19	651
26	Central Jersey	41.6	41	96.5%	18	668
27	Colorado Springs	42.2	22	95.4%	15	647
28	Suburban Twin Cities	42.6	25	96.0%	14	656
29	Central Valley	43.0	25	97.9%	29	616
29	Portland	43.0	30	96.3%	15	661
31	Albuquerque	43.8	22	96.8%	19	626
32	Suburban Philadelphia	44.2	32	95.8%	16	670
32	Fayetteville	44.2	15	97.9%	17	620
34	Harrisburg	44.4	30	96.7%	23	638
35	Seattle	44.8	32	95.2%	16	677
36	Broward County	45.0	28	96.7%	20	636
37	Huntsville	46.0	23	96.4%	13	638
38	Denver	46.2	27	95.4%	14	660
39	Phoenix	46.4	25	96.3%	20	631
40	Tampa	46.6	25	96.4%	22	629

Rank	Market	Competitive Score	Average Vacancy Days	Occupied Apartments	Prospective Renters	Credit Score
40	Pittsburgh	46.6	30	95.1%	13	685
42	Wichita	47.2	19	96.8%	13	629
43	Reno	47.4	25	96.4%	17	632
44	Orlando	47.6	25	96.7%	21	627
45	East Bay	48.0	35	95.5%	15	672
46	Jacksonville	48.6	24	96.4%	20	625
47	Charleston	49.2	25	95.0%	14	645
48	North Jersey	49.8	39	95.0%	13	707
49	Lansing – Ann Arbor	50.4	25	96.2%	15	637
50	North Dakota	51.0	25	96.2%	10	650