Is Fresno becoming a renter-friendly city?

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – When looking for a good place to live, whether it’s a permanent or a temporary place, folks might want to check some boxes before making the move. A RentCafe report that analyzes many of these aspects suggests Fresno might be becoming a renter-friendly city, compared to previous years.

RentCafe released its “Best Cities for Renters to Live in 2025” report back in July. The report was made with an analysis of 20 key metrics across 150 US cities, including “apartment quality, economic strength, traffic, air quality and access to natural amenities.”

The report says that, with a population of 543,615 people, an average apartment size of 905 sqft, an occupancy rate of 95.6% and a 50.3% share of renter households, the city is the 112th best city for renters to live. The report adds that Fresno’s cost of living is 8.1%.

Reports from previous years show Fresno as the 126th best city for renters to live in 2024, and the 121st best city for renters to live in 2023. Compared to this year’s report, the city might be slowly becoming more renter-friendly.

RentCafe states cities considered for the report were those with at least 10,000 apartment units and a population of at least 50,000. The page’s team compared the cities across the categories: cost of living and housing, local economy and quality of life.

The best city for renters to live in 2025, according to the report, is McKinney, Texas. To read the full report, click here.