One measure of a hot rental market is how many people search its apartment listings from out of town.
And by that metric, Hartford, Connecticut, is one of the hottest rental markets in America. So are New Orleans, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Raleigh, North Carolina.
A new report from Zillow lists the large metropolitan areas with the most rental interest coming from out-of-towners, as measured by Zillow searches.
Rental search trends “are an early signal of migration trends,” Zillow says in the report. When lots of out-of-towners are searching rental listings in Providence, Rhode Island, or Richmond, Virginia, Zillow says, “it often points to a developing pipeline of incoming renters.”
Eight metropolitan areas draw half or more of rental interest
from out of town, as of July 2026, according to Zillow’s analysis. Some, like Raleigh and Nashville, are well-established boomtowns. Others, like New Orleans and Salt Lake City, are not considered highly competitive housing markets. The analysis covers the nation's 50 largest metro areas by population.
“I think something they almost all have in common is that they have a value proposition in terms of affordability,” with relatively modest rents for apartments and homes, said Mischa Fisher, chief economist at Zillow.
The new ranking “is giving us a good indication of where future housing demand will be, both in future rentals and on the for-sale side,” he said.
These 10 cities are hot rental markets for out-of-towners
Here are the 10 metro areas with the largest share of rental interest coming from out-of-towners, as judged by Zillow pageviews.
Raleigh, North Carolina. Raleigh has drawn attention as a 2020s boomtown, with a robust workforce and strong earnings growth. According to Zillow, 59% of rental interest comes from out-of-towners, the highest share in the country. The strongest interest comes from neighboring Charlotte, a boomtown in its own right.
Hartford, Connecticut. Some people jokingly term Hartford “America’s filing cabinet,” because of its insurance firms, but the city has also grown into one of the nation’s hottest housing markets. Zillow says 55% of rental interest comes from out-of-towners, the second-highest share in the nation. Much of the interest comes from nearby New York.
New Orleans. By comparison with other cities on this list, New Orleans has had a struggling housing market. But 54% of rental interest comes from out-of-town searchers, the third-highest rate in the nation. And the share of out-of-town interest rose by 3.2 percentage points over the past year, which means New Orleans could be on a hot streak.
Salt Lake City, Utah. Salt Lake City isn’t a particularly competitive housing market, according to Redfin. But 52% of rental interest comes from out-of-towners, Zillow reports, making the city a popular destination for potential renters. The largest share of outside interest comes from Los Angeles.
Nashville. Many recent studies have identified Nashville as a 2020s boomtown, with strong earnings and business growth. Zillow reports that 52% of all rental interest comes from out-of-towners, particularly from nearby Memphis.
Providence, Rhode Island. Zillow ranks Providence as one of the nation’s hottest housing markets. Bostonians are showing especially strong interest in Providence rentals, accounting for 16% of all pageviews. Overall, 51.5% of interest in Providence listings comes from out-of-town searchers.
Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham is one of the nation’s best markets for first-time home buyers, Zillow reports, partly because of affordable rents. Exactly half of rental interest comes from out-of-town searchers, placing it 7th on the new Zillow list. Much of that interest comes from potential renters in Atlanta.
Richmond, Virginia. Zillow rates Richmond one of the nation’s hottest housing markets. Half of rental interest comes from out of town, and especially from nearby Virginia Beach, Virginia’s largest city.
Austin, Texas. Austin has ranked as one of the nation’s top boomtowns in recent years, with many residents drawn from other states. Zillow reports that 49.5% of rental interest comes from out of town.
Charlotte, N.C. Another boomtown, Charlotte draws 49% of rental interest from out-of-towners. Quite a few potential renters come from New York.
These cities are becoming more popular to out-of-town renters
Here are three other cities that, like New Orleans, are seeing a rising interest in rentals from out-of-town searchers. A rising share of rental interest from out-of-towners is “an early signal of where relocation demand may be heading next,” Zillow reports.
Buffalo, New York.Only 40% of rental interest in Buffalo comes from out-of-town searchers, Zillow reports, but that figure has risen by 4.2 percentage points over the past year.
Chicago. Only 31% of rental interest in Chicago comes from out of town, but the number has crept up by 3.7 percentage points over the past year.
Houston. Out-of-town renters are becoming more interested in Houston, as well. The share of out-of-town interest rose 3.4 points to 35% over the past year, Zillow reports.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hartford? You'll never guess some of the hottest U.S. rental markets
