Dennis RomeroMaybe it's the landlords who steal your deposit without much recourse. Or it could be the prospective leases that require Nobel prizes, MBAs and mayoral recommendations as qualifications. Perhaps it's just rents that are so high that homelessness seems like a reasonable option.
Whatever it is, Los Angeles gets a C when it comes to renter satisfaction, according to the new “Renter Confidence Survey” from rental site Apartment List. The survey, which asked 30,000 renters from coast to coast to rate their cities, concluded that renters in L.A. are “generally dissatisfied with the city overall, with most renters giving below average or significantly below average scores across the board,” according to Andrew Woo, the site's director of data science.
“With rents rising significantly in coastal cities especially, it comes as no surprise that cost of living is a source of dissatisfaction here,” he said.
Renters were more satisfied with L.A.'s performance in the weather category — which drew an A- — but the local job scene and access to public transportation both registered a C+. Safety drew a C- (sorry, Los Angeles Police Department — we know you try).
“Infrastructure wasn't made to accommodate the millions of people living here now, so roads are clogged, affordable apartments are hard to find, and parking is an unholy nightmare,” one renter told Apartment List. “The weather is amazing, and there's always so much to do. I love LA, even if it's got some major issues.”
The city received a D in the categories of affordability, cost of living and public school quality. But it gets worse. While millennial renters gave the city an overall grade of C, renters who are parents gave L.A. a big, giant F, Apartment List says.
“Los Angeles did better than some California cities such as Sacramento (C-) and San Jose (C-), but paled in comparison to others like San Diego (A-) and San Francisco (A-),” the site stated.
Top overall grades were awarded to L.A. County's own Pasadena, as well as to Arlington, Virginia, Boston, and Madison, Wisconsin, among others. If you like low grades, Newark, New Jersey, the Bronx and Baltimore are the towns for you.
Credit: Apartment List
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