Davis, Ann Arbor Top List of College Towns For Renter Satisfaction

For many high school seniors it’s decision time. Those who received multiple offers of admission for college must now weigh the pluses and minuses of their chosen schools. Here at ApartmentRatings, we decided to help by releasing rankings of renter satisfaction for the 100 largest colleges in the United States.

Topping the list was Davis California, home to the University of California – Davis.  Located just outside of the capital of Sacramento and within easy driving range of San Francisco, Davis is well known for its research prowess and connection to state government. Other cities in the top ten included Athens, GA (University of Georgia), Ann Arbor, MI (University of Michigan) and Amherst, MA (University of Massachusetts).

We believe ApartmentRatings is great source of information, not just about individual apartment buildings, but also broader renter trends and opinions across America. Overall renter satisfaction is just one of the many factors our users can rate for apartment complexes around the country and we hope this helps prospective students make their decision just a bit easier.

Read the full press release:

Davis, Athens, and Ann Arbor Top ApartmentRatings.com List of College Towns with Most Satisfied Renters

Renter Satisfaction Rankings rate college towns’ renter satisfaction based on thousands of user-submitted ratings

LOS ANGELES (March 2, 2010) – ApartmentRatings.com, the leading website for user reviews of apartments around the United States, today released rankings of renter satisfaction for the 100 largest college towns and college cities in the country.

Topping the list is Davis, Calif., home to the University of California-Davis, a highly regarded public institution located in Northern California’s Central Valley.  UC-Davis’s 30,000 students enjoy the comforts of a university town (population 64,000) and Mediterranean climate, as well as close access to the state capital of Sacramento (11 miles) and cosmopolitan San Francisco (72 miles).  Off-campus housing is plentiful and relatively inexpensive when compared to many major metropolitan areas.

Other top-rated college towns include:

Athens, Ga. (University of Georgia)

Ann Arbor, Mich. (University of Michigan)

Amherst , Mass. (University of Massachusetts)

Albany, N.Y. (State University of New York & Excelsior College)

Tuscaloosa, Ala. (University of Alabama)

Madison, Wis. (University of Wisconsin)

Knoxville, Tenn. (University of Tennessee)

Tucson, Ariz. (University of Arizona)

The full list of the 85 college towns included in the rankings can be viewed at http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/2010collegetownrankings.

“Congratulations to Davis and the other cities that made the top of the rankings,” said Michael Egan, general manager of ApartmentRatings.com.  “There are a lot of factors that go into a student’s decision when choosing a college. Our goal was to use the vast wealth of ApartmentRatings data to help students and their families identify those institutions that are located in cities with well-regarded off-campus apartment opportunities.”

Davis’ ranking was based on reviews associated with dozens of different apartment complexes in the city.

“Renters’ reviews are building-specific, and though apartments in Davis get their share of complaints, consistently positive feedback for things like safety, noise and upkeep put Davis on top,” added Egan.

At the bottom of the list was Cambridge, Mass., home of America’s oldest and most famous place of higher learning: Harvard University.

The satisfaction scores were tabulated from thousands of user-submitted ratings provided in 2009 for apartment buildings in the cities and towns of the 100 largest four-year colleges and universities in the United States.  In addition to overall satisfaction, users on ApartmentRatings.com can rate their rental experience on a number of specific factors including noise, safety and maintenance, as well as leave comments about their own experience living in the buildings.

About ApartmentRatings.com

Launched in 2000, ApartmentRatings.com is the largest online rating community for rental housing. The goal of ApartmentRatings is to help renters make an informed renting decision. As an independent resource for renters, ApartmentRatings’ reviews provide a realistic insider’s perspective of apartment communities because they are in renters’ own words. The site is among the top five most-visited apartment hunting sites in the world.