Apartment List has released Rhode Island's results from the first annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. The survey, which drew on responses from over 18,000 renters, provides new insights into what states and cities must do to meet the needs of the 105 million American renters nationwide.

"Despite low scores in several categories, Rhode Island renters report high satisfaction with their cities," says Andrew Tam, Vice President of Data Science at Apartment List. "The US renter population is at its highest level in 20 years, and while Rhode Island's safety and commute scores are high, concerns about the economy and quality of local schools may lead to future declines in satisfaction."

Key findings in Rhode Island include the following:

• Renters gave Rhode Island cities an A for satisfaction, ranking 8th out of 41 states in our study.
• Rhode Island earned a C- for confidence in the economy with only 22% of renters saying that they believe the local economy is on the right track.
• 55% of renters plan to purchase a home in the future, which is below the national average of 60%.
• Rhode Island ranked above average for safety and crime rates: 66% of respondents reported satisfaction versus the national average of 53%.
• In most other categories, Rhode Island scored poorly, including quality of local schools (C), access to recreation (D), and state and local taxes (F). This preponderence of low grades may negatively impact future satisfaction scores.
• Rhode Island ranked well for city satisfaction compared to its neighbors with an A, followed by Massachusetts (B-), New York (C), and Connecticut and New Hampshire (F).
• The top rated states for city satisfaction were Utah, Idaho, Minnesota, Colorado, and Oklahoma. The lowest rated states were Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, and South Carolina.

A detailed report explaining the survey's methodology, analysis, and findings is available upon request. To obtain a copy, please email Andrew Tam, Apartment List's Vice President of Data Science, at andrew@apartmentlist.com.