Forbes Ranks Twin Cities 2nd Worst For Renters
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- If you're thinking of renting in the Twin Cities, Forbes Magazine suggests Tucson instead.
Whereas the Arizona city ranked the best in the nation for renters, Forbes says that the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area is second only to New York City among the nation's worst cities to rent an apartment.
The average rent for a place in the Twin Cities is still below $1,000, unlike many of the other cities included on the magazine's list of worst places -- some of which approach or exceed $2,000 per month.
However, because the area's house prices have plunged more than 30 percent since 2006, the magazine says that it's significantly cheaper to buy a house in the Twin Cities than to rent one.
Forbes says that low vacancy rates in the Twin Cities are adding to the list of renter woes, and have helped drive rent prices up 2.3 percent from this time last year.
The magazine ranked out the top 44 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, so those figures also include what's going on in the suburbs.
Forbes rounded out their worst list with a number of cities in California -- San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Ana, and Los Angeles -- as well as Boston, Washington, and New Haven, Conn.
Behind Tucson, Forbes' list of the best cities for renters also includes Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; as well as both San Antonion and Houston in Texas.
