Worcester Ranked Among Worst Cities for Renters in U.S.
Friday, July 28, 2017
Worcester ranked among worst cities in U.S. for renters
According to recent study completed by WalletHub, Worcester is ranked 133rd out of 150 ranked cities.
“Rental prices, for one, have soared over the years, according to a recent analysis of housing affordability by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Between 2010 and 2015, median home rent grew an average of 2.3 percent year over year while personal income declined by 0.4 percent annually over the same period. And with demand for affordable housing exceeding supply, 11.1 million renters today spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing, a group that federal housing agencies describe as “severely cost-burdened,” said WalletHub.
Worcester's Rankings
- 100th Best - Rental Market and Affordability
- 1128th Best - Quality of Life
The Rankings
Worcester is ranked behind Augusta, Georgia and Tacoma, Washington who rank 131st and 132nd respectively. Worcester is ranked ahead of Seattle, Washington and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who rank 134th and 135th respectively.
Scottsdale, Arizona is ranked as the best place to pay rent, while Cleveland, Ohio is ranked as the worst.
See the full rankings in the map below
The Method
In order to determine the best local rental markets, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 most populated U.S. cities across two key dimensions, including “Rental Market & Affordability” and “Quality of Life.”
They evaluated those dimensions using 21 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for renters.
Finally, WalletHub determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score then used the resulting scores to rank-order the cities in our sample.
Rental Market & Affordability – Total Points: 60
- Share of Renters: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
- Rental Vacancy Rate: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
- Sublet Laws-Friendliness: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
- Average Home Square Footage: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
- Share of Newer Homes: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
- Rental Affordability: Triple Weight (~10.59 Points)
- Historical Rental-Price Changes: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
- Forecasted Change of Median Rent: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
- Share of Severely Cost-Burdened Renter Households: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
- Average Annual Renters-Insurance Premium: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
- Rent-to-Price Ratio: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
- Cost of Living: Triple Weight (~10.59 Points)
- Security-Deposit Limit: Full Weight (~3.53 Points)
Quality of Life – Total Points: 40
- City Satisfaction Ranking: Full Weight (~5.71 Points)
- Job Market: Full Weight (~5.71 Points)
- Driver-Friendliness: Half Weight (~2.86 Points)
- Recreation-Friendliness: Full Weight (~5.71 Points)
- Weather: Half Weight (~2.86 Points)
- Quality of Public School System: Half Weight (~2.86 Points)
- Safety: Double Weight (~11.43 Points)
- Presence of State Bedbug Laws: Half Weight (~2.86 Points)
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