Atlanta is the second-best city in the United States for renters in 2024, RentCafe said, citing its annual survey, which put Charleston, South Carolina, in the top spot. 

The survey compared 149 cities based on 20 metrics that affect renters, including cost of living, average apartment size, share of new apartments, unemployment rate, commute time and air quality, which in turn were grouped into three primary categories: cost of living and housing, which were given a 50% weight, local economy, weighted 30%, and quality of life, weighted 20%.  

Atlanta’s strong showings in the local economy and cost of living and housing categories, in which it ranked No. 4 and No. 9, respectively, helped the city rise in the rankings from last year, when it ranked No. 4. 

At 972 square feet, Atlanta also got high marks for average apartment size. The top four spots in this metric were claimed by nearby Georgia cities (Columbus, Marietta, Athens and Macon). Atlanta ranked No. 1 among cities with more than 500,000 residents for use of public transportation and walking (10% of residents) and ranked No. 2 overall for the number of new business applications in the last year (472). 

After Atlanta, Sarasota, Florida; McKinney, Texas; and Scottsdale, Arizona, rounded out the top five spots, while Newark, New Jersey; Detroit; and Sunnyvale, California, ranked last.