‘Hot’ Rental Markets to Watch in 2024

For those that cannot buy in the current housing market, those people must turn to renting. 

If you live in Atlanta, Kansas City, or Cincinnati, renting may be the predominant option for most people on the search for the American Dream. In fact, according to RentCafe, the Midwest is now the number one region for renters to keep an eye on in 2024 with 12 cities in their top cities this year. 

For the typical American, the housing market has likely felt quite challenging in 2023. High home prices and rising interest rates pushed many to continue their renter lifestyles. As we look ahead to 2024, which cities will continue to see the most rental activity and attract apartment hunters? 

To find out, RentCafe dug a little deeper to determine which cities were the year’s stars for renters as 2023 came to a close. After closely monitoring and reporting on the most active rental markets every month throughout this last year, we totaled the same metrics for the entire 12-month period. 

According to RentCafe, Atlanta is the top city to watch in 2024 after attracting the highest number of online searches through their platform. The popularity of Atlanta listings also helped the city rank first in April 2023 and the city is expected to maintain its momentum in 2024. Kansas City, comes in second in our annual top 30, followed by another Midwestern city, Cincinnati—both cities are anticipated to be renter favorites in 2024. Notably, KCMO climbed to the top spot on our list in our May and June reports, while Cincy landed at #4 on both occasions. 

The city of Arlington in Virginia is fourth on their list as it saw increased interest from apartment hunters in 2023. This comes after Arlington’s high demand during the peak rental season of last year, leading rental activity top 30 for three consecutive months from July to September—a one-of-a-kind achievement. Then, Orlando, FL, rounds out the top five of cities to keep tabs on in 2024 due to high online engagement rates as one of the most popular sunny destinations for renters in 2023. 

Click here to see breakdowns of the top cities to watch for renting in 2024. 

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