”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations while noting these grades are best seen as a mix of artful interpretation and data.
Buzz: Only two states are worse deals for renters than California.
Source: My trusty spreadsheet compared Census Bureau housing data, comparing 2021 to 2016 for 50 states plus the District of Columbia. To create a value metric for renting, states were scored on five-year change in rental costs, 2021 share of financially burdened renters, the burden’s 2016-21 change, 2016-21 change in rental households, and residents per rental unit 2021. Rankings were derived from a state’s average grade.
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My scorecard put California as