HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Chesapeake and Virginia Beach were recently listed among the top three cities for renters.
Forbes Advisor, a personal finance channel at Forbes, recently published its second annual ranking of the Best Cities for Renters. Chesapeake ranked as the second-best city and Virginia Beach landed as third best city.
Forbes Advisor analyzed data from Apartments.com, disaster data from FEMA, park information from The Trust for Public Land and other sources, for the 93 largest U.S. cities. The ranking calls out cities with the highest risk for natural disasters, best apartment perks, and includes advice on renters insurance.
Top Cities (and their score out of 100 points):
1. Lincoln, Nebraska (70 out of 100)
2. Chesapeake, Virginia (65 out of 100)
3. Virginia Beach, Virginia (65 out of 100)
4. Raleigh, North Carolina (65 out of 100)
5. Plano, Texas (65 out of 100)
6. Gilbert, Arizona (65 out of 100)
7. Scottsdale, Arizona (65 out of 100)
8. Irvine, California (65 out of 100)
9. Henderson, Nevada (60 out of 100)
10. Chandler, Arizona (60 out of 100)
Chesapeake received a score of 65/100 with an average rent price for a two-bedroom coming in at $1,432 a month with an average size of 1,004 square feet. According to the ranking, the biggest weather and natural disaster risks are hurricanes.
According to the study, in Chesapeake, pet owners shouldn’t have a hard time finding a place to live since 89% of units allow pets and 20% of pet-friendly units include a pet play area. There are two dog parks per 100,000 residents, such as the Western Branch dog park with plenty of shade trees and doggie drinking fountains.
Virginia Beach landed as the third best city for renters with average rent for a two-bedroom at $1,470 a month with an average size of 1,022 square feet. Hurricanes were also listed as the biggest weather disaster risk.
37 percent of Virginia Beach rentals have a pool and more than two-thirds have gyms (69%) and in-unit washers and dryers (68%).
According to the Forbes Advisor study, it will be harder to find a new or renovated kitchen in Virginia Beach with only about 13% offering stainless steel appliances. 91% of rentals in Virginia Beach also allow pets.
