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10 Cities Where You Can Get the Most Apartment for the Least Rent

By Marc Rapport - Aug 27, 2022 at 11:03AM
Concrete-block apartment building.

10 Cities Where You Can Get the Most Apartment for the Least Rent

This RentCafé list offers a rundown of square footage winners among 115 major U.S. markets

The pandemic put a spotlight on a trend that saw people moving to bigger domiciles and often smaller cities to accommodate working from home and just generally looking for more space at home and in their lives.

That includes homeowners and renters alike. But where to go? Well, in terms of space alone, RentCafé released a report recently that ranked the best cities for renters from among 115 markets across the country.

A subset of that takeout was where you could get the biggest apartment for about $1,500 a month. Here's a look at what the big online rental search site found.

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A tall building and Route 66 sign in Amarillo, Texas.

1. Amarillo, Texas

The largest city in the Texas Panhandle is where you'll find the most square footage for that $1,500 a month, RentCafé reports. At 1,411 square feet, that's more than three times the 463 square feet that same rent would get you in San Diego, California.

The average rent in this Route 66 town is $879 for an 827-square-foot pad, RentCafé says. Amarillo itself is home to about 200,000 people, while the metro area is at about 310,000 and steadily growing, making it a good consideration for rental real estate investors.

ALSO READ: How to Make Passive Income from Real Estate

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The Arkansas capitol and state flag.

2. Little Rock, Arkansas

You can expect to get an apartment with about 1,395 square feet for $1,500 a month in the capital city of Arkansas. RentCafé says the average rent here is $946 at an average size of 880 square feet. The Little Rock metro now has about 527,000 residents, an increase of about 4% since the first days of the pandemic.

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Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

3. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The average apartment in the Sooner State’s capital city is 850 square feet, and renters can expect to pay -- and investors can expect to charge -- an average of $917 monthly for that place.

For $1,500 a month, RentCafé says you can expect to get or provide about 1,390 square feet. Oklahoma City is about a three-hour drive north of the massive Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and has a metro population that has just edged over the one million mark.

ALSO READ: Should You Buy a Rental Property Right Now?

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Alabama roadside welcome sign that says Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama.

4. Mobile, Alabama

This city on the bay provides about 1,343 square feet for $1,500 a month in rent. The average monthly rent is $1,042 for a 933-square-foot apartment, RentCafé says.

Mobile itself has about 190,000 residents, while the Gulf Coast community’s metro population numbers about 430,000.

For your geographical information, Mobile is on Mobile Bay, about 140 miles east of New Orleans and 240 miles west of Tallahassee, all on Interstate 10.

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People walking up and down Beale St. in Memphis, Tennessee.

5. Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis has Graceland, Beale Street, and a rental market that will get you about 1,323 square feet of apartment for $1,500 a month. RentCafé says the average monthly rent and apartment sizes are $1,032 and 910 square feet, respectively.

Memphis also is home to about 630,000 people and the corporate headquarters of FedEx, auto parts retail giant AutoZone, and Mid-American Apartment Communities, the country’s largest publicly held owner of apartment units.

ALSO READ: What the Cooling Rental Market Means for This Multifamily REIT

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Welcome to Louisiana sign on highway.

6. Lafayette, Louisiana

Lafayette is in the heart of Cajun country, about two hours west of New Orleans and three hours east of Houston on the aforementioned I-10.

RentCafé says you can get 1,297 square feet of apartment space here for about $1,500 and that the average apartment size and rent are 912 square feet and $1,055, respectively.

The city has about 121,000 residents and a metro area of about 480,000. There are also a lot of educational, culinary, and classic Louisiana cultural opportunities at the ready. Laissez le bon temps rouler!

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The Omaha skyline at sunset.

7. Omaha, Nebraska

The Cornhusker State's largest city is known for many things, including steak, the College Baseball World Series, and legendary investor Warren Buffet, whose Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate is based here. Other notable headquarters here belong to venerable insurer Mutual of Omaha, railroad giant Union Pacific, and online brokerage TD Ameritrade.

Despite all that activity, this Missouri River town of about 480,000 residents is still relatively affordable, with $1,500 a month in rent good for an apartment of 1,288 square feet and an average monthly rent of $1,069 for 918 square feet.

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An aerial view of the Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

8. Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville's claims to fame include being where the rockets were developed that took men to the moon. The Rocket City is also home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and a large defense and aerospace presence -- including the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal and the University of Alabama-Huntsville and its engineering programs.

You can get an apartment here for an average monthly rent of $1,101 for 940 square feet, and $1,500 will get you an average of 1,281 square feet, RentCafé says. This Tennessee Valley community is home to about 200,000 people and is about two hours south of Nashville and an hour north of Birmingham off Interstate 65.

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Worker and oil pumpjack at sunset.

9. Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock is a university town -- home to the 40,000-student Texas Tech University -- and the center of a major cotton-growing and oil-producing region.

RentCafé says about 48% of its 258,000 or so residents are renters. They’re paying $1,078 per month for the average 915-square-foot apartment, while $1,500 a month gets them an apartment averaging 1,273 square feet.

ALSO READ: 3 Reasons Rental Property Is Getting Stronger Than Ever

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River view of downtown Augusta, GA.

10. Augusta, Georgia

Augusta is home to the Masters Tournament, of course, the Medical College of Georgia (one of the largest med schools in the country), a nice riverfront scene along the Savannah River, and a large Army base (Fort Gordon).

Augusta and Richmond County are on Interstate 20, about two hours east of Atlanta and have about 200,000 residents, with nearly 50% of them renting, according to RentCafé. The listing service's data finds them paying, on average, $1,099 for 918 square feet, while $1,500 a month nets them an average of 1,253 square feet of rented living space.

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Person carrying box into apartment.

Space isn't everything, but it is something

The full RentCafé report ranked markets based on a combination of proprietary metrics that also included the local economy, cost of living, and quality of life.

The number crunchers ended up selecting the Austin suburb of Round Rock, Texas, as No. 1; although at 870 square feet, the community ranked number 35 in terms of space you get for your $1,500 a month.

So, while space isn’t everything, it is a good place to start when you’re looking for a place to rent for yourself or to buy to rent out to someone else.

Marc Rapport has positions in Mid-America Apartment. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), FedEx, and Mid-America Apartment. The Motley Fool recommends Union Pacific and recommends the following options: long January 2023 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short January 2023 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and short January 2023 $265 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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