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One in every 12 Boston-area renters, possibly priced out of their current units, are taking an active interest in Providence, Rhode Island and Worcester, according to new data from Apartment List.
The site measured searches of Apartment List users between Jan. 1, 2018 and May 1, 2019. For users who searched in multiple locations, the company’s researchers considered the initial search location to be the primary one. Each user’s current place of residence was defined by the IP address from which the user is searching.
Among all users living in Boston in the study period, 64.2 percent were searching for apartments in locations that would keep them in Boston, and 35.8 percent of apartment hunters currently living in Boston were searching outside of the metro area. At the same time, 37.3 percent of those looking for a place to rent in Boston were searching from outside the area, and 62.7 percent of searches came from Boston residents trying to stay in the metro area.
For Boston-area renters looking to leave, Providence was the most popular, drawing 15.2 percent of users, followed by Worcester at 7.8 percent, Rochester, New York at 6.2 percent and Manchester, New Hampshire at 5.3 percent.
Among those looking for a place in Greater Boston, 14.7 percent were living in the Worcester area, and 5.2 percent were living in the Providence metro.
The data also show some regional rivalries die hard. Boston attracts substantial interest from New Yorkers – fully 21.8 percent of those looking to move to Boston – looking to relocate outside of the metro far out of proportion to the 5.7 percent of Bostonians looking to leave the area who are aiming to move to New York.
Data covering the Worcester metro show a different picture of renter activity. Among all users living in Worcester in the study period, 32.3 percent were searching for apartments in locations that would keep them in Worcester, and 67.7 percent of apartment hunters currently living in Worcester are searching outside of the area.
However, among people looking for an apartment in the Worcester area, 40.9 percent of those looking for a place to live were searching from outside the metro and 59.1 percent were Worcester-area residents. Among those looking to move from outside the area, 53.9 percent lived in Boston, 16.1 percent lived in New York and 3.3 percent lived in Providence.
