Salt Lake the most sought out-of-state destination for San Franciscans
Rising rents and the overall higher costs of living in the heart of the city are pushing people to look elsewhere for housing and employment. A new report by Apartment List, an online rental marketplace, shows that 64 percent of renters nationally want to move to a different metro to settle down with most citing affordable housing or job opportunities as reasons to relocate.
On a local level, the study suggests that while jobs and housing might push renters into other metro areas, the same concerns are drawing renters from larger metros, like San Francisco, to Salt Lake.
The findings are part of Apartment List’s annual renter survey. The authors analyzed apartment searches and responses from 24,000 renters that were asked if they planned to move and why. In Salt Lake City 77 percent of renters said they plan on settling in a different metro. Most Salt Lake City renters cited job either opportunities or housing affordability as the top reason to relocate, with 35 percent of the respondents citing jobs and 29 percent citing housing. Weather and safety concerns came in a distant third and fourth, with less than 10 percent of respondents citing either issue as a top concern.
In Salt Lake City 77 percent of renters said they plan on settling in a different metro. Most Salt Lake City renters cited job either opportunities or housing affordability as the top reason to relocate, with 35 percent of the respondents citing jobs and 29 percent citing housing. Weather and safety concerns came in a distant third and fourth, with less than 10 percent of respondents citing either issue as a top concern.
Los Angeles is the top destination for Salt Lake renters looking to relocate, followed by Seattle and Phoenix.
While Salt Lake City renters appear to be drawn to larger metro areas on the West Coast the inverse is happening as well. Salt Lake City is the most searched out-of-state metro area for renters in San Francisco. Bay area renters are also interested in the Ogden area, which was the third most searched metro area. Salt Lake and Lehi’s growing tech economy and comparatively lower cost of living could be what is attracting San Franciscans to Utah.
The report found that nationally, renters in the Sunbelt are most likely to want to stay in their current location while renters in the Midwest and on the Coasts are more likely to want to relocate before settling down.
Renters living in the East and West Coast are more likely to cite affordability as the largest driver of relocation, while in inland metros – primarily located in the Midwest and South Atlantic – cite better job opportunities are the main factor driving renters to new locations.
Additionally, renters living in more affordable metro areas like Houston, San Antonio and Louisville Kentucky, were least likely to want to relocate. While renters living in the three most expensive regions, New York, San Francisco and Boston were most likely to want to relocate.
Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Atlanta are the most popular destinations for renters surveyed that are looking to relocate.
