Cities in the Bay Area are increasingly attracting interest from renters this year, with several cities earning top spots in a recent national survey.
Despite affordability concerns, cities like San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco continue to attract strong interest from renters, according to a latest analysis by RentCafe.
Several Bay Area cities stood out in the West region based on an analysis of the 150 largest cities in the country.
Although renter activity typically cools by the end of the year, these cities continued to see strong engagement through the last few months of 2025, according to RentCafe.
Winter momentum usually indicates an early competition, signaling the markets that could heat up quickly as the new year advances and the peak rental season nears.
San Jose Tops Western Cities
Leading Bay Area cities is San Jose, which secured the top position among Western cities and ranked seventh overall nationwide.
The city’s new mixed-use districts, which offer transit access and high-end retail, have been attracting residents who may have earlier preferred the suburbs, confirming San Jose’s appeal as a tech-hub hotspot.
Interest was mostly led by renters in San Francisco, followed by Los Angeles and Santa Clara.
The city has posted an impressive uptick in renter activity, with saved searches jumping significantly and ranking 17th for total saved searches. The renter interest in San Jose also indicates more intentional browsing.
While San Jose’s page views rose 29%, listings added to favorites improved by 2%.
Other Bay Area cities which featured prominently on the list were Oakland and San Francisco.
Oakland not only ranked fifth in the West, it also secured a spot in the top 30 nationwide for renter engagement.
Earning the seventh spot regionally, San Francisco ranked No. 26 nationally.
Other California cities which saw considerable renter engagement were Long Beach (No. 3 in the West, No. 14 in the U.S.) and Santa Ana (No. 6 regionally and No. 25 in the U.S.).
Most Sought-After Cities in the U.S.
Nationwide, Cincinnati was the most sought-after city by renters, emerging as the most popular destination this year after jumping 10 positions since last year. The high demand was mostly due to renters who are relocating from high-cost, coastal metros in search of a mid-sized city with a strong employment potential, along with the revitalization of downtown neighborhoods, according to RentCafe.
The top 10 leading cities driving renter interest in 2026 are:
Cincinnati, OH
Atlanta, GA
Minneapolis, MN
Washington, D.C.
Baltimore MD
Cleveland, OH
San Jose, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Kansas City, MO
Birmingham, AL
The Midwest and the South stood out as renters’ leading destinations this year, with the Midwest leading with 11 cities and the South trailing close with 10. Together, these two regions outpaced the West (seven cities) and Northeast (two cities).
RentCafe’s Methodology
RentCafe analyzed online engagement data from its rental listing data across 150 cities, targeting renter activity such as saved searches and apartments saved as favorites in the recent months.
The cities were ranked based on a city-level rental activity score. Full points were given to the most desirable city for a specific popular metric, while the zero-point level was set slightly below the worst city’s value.
After reviewing the most sought-after locations at the end of 2025, the analysis identified cities likely to gain momentum ahead of the 2026 peak season.