A surge in out-of-town rental searches points to Buffalo, Chicago and Houston as markets to watch

Zillow data reveals which rental markets are drawing the most outside interest and where demand may be heading next

• Outside interest is growing fastest in Buffalo, Chicago and Houston, where out-of-town rental search shares grew the most year over year.
• In established hotspots — Raleigh (59%), Hartford (55%), New Orleans (54%) and Nashville (52%) — outside rental searchers outnumber local rental searchers on Zillow.
• The largest shares of long-distance rental searches typically come from neighboring states. The notable exception is New Yorkers looking south, especially in Florida.

SEATTLE, Sept. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Prospective renters are looking beyond their own backyards, and new Zillow® data reveals where they're setting their sights. An analysis of rental listing page views found that out-of-town interest is growing fastest in Buffalo, Chicago and Houston. The share of searches coming from renters outside these markets has surged over the past year — an early signal of where relocation demand may be heading next.

"Renting is often how people try out a new community before committing. When we see a market with a growing share of rental searches coming from outside the metro, that tips us off to a developing pipeline," said Mischa Fisher, chief economist at Zillow. "A year-over-year surge in out-of-town browsing in places like Buffalo and Chicago tells us a wave of newcomers may not be far behind."

Outside vs. local: Where rental interest is shifting year over year
Buffalo saw the steepest climb in outside interest over the past year, with its out-of-town rental share growing 4.2 percentage points. Chicago (up 3.7 percentage points), Houston (+3.4), New Orleans (+3.2) and Dallas (+3) saw the next biggest gains.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati led local share growth, up 8.1 percentage points year over year, followed by Jacksonville (+4.6) and Columbus (+3.2), a likely sign that homegrown demand is driving these rental markets.

The markets drawing the most out-of-town rental searches
The markets drawing the most out-of-town rental interest are concentrated in the Sun Belt and Mid-Atlantic. These markets have absorbed years of relocation demand from higher-cost coastal metros.

Raleigh tops the list with 59% of page views on rental listings coming from outside the metro area. Hartford (55.1%), New Orleans (53.7%), Salt Lake City (51.9%) and Nashville (51.7%) round out the top five. Providence, named Zillow's hottest rental market of 2026, is next with 51.5% of rental page views coming from out-of-towners.

At the other end of the spectrum, New York (76.3% of page views on rental listings coming from locals), Los Angeles (72.9%) and Chicago (69.1%) are the most locally driven markets.

As the three biggest markets in the U.S., their population sizes are a primary reason the most local rental traffic is seen in these areas — there are simply more potential rental shoppers. Metros that outperform their population include St. Louis, which ranks No. 4 among major markets with 67.2% of rental page views coming from within the metro; Kansas City, which ranks No. 10 at 63.3%; and Las Vegas, which ranks No. 13 at 62.1%.

Top cross-metro shopping flows
Most cross-market rental searches happen between neighboring metros. Washington, D.C. rental searchers account for 23.9% of all rental page views on Baltimore listings. Similar short-distance flows dominate the top of the list, with Los Angeles renters browsing Riverside (21.3%), San Francisco renters browsing San Jose (17.6%) and Boston renters browsing Providence (16.1%).

When looking only at long-distance searches — between markets in different states and at least 100 miles apart — the most common flow is renters in the New York area browsing listings in Hartford, accounting for 6% of all Hartford rental page views on Zillow. Other common flows include Los Angeles renters browsing Las Vegas listings (5.5% of all Las Vegas rental page views), Houston renters browsing Oklahoma City (5.2%) and Boston renters browsing Buffalo (5%).

Among the 20 most common long-distance searches, most occur within neighboring states. The notable exception is New Yorkers looking south. Rental shoppers in the New York metro area make up 2.8% of all page views in Raleigh, about 425 miles and several states away. They also account for large shares of views in Miami (4.8%), Orlando (2.7%) and Tampa (2.4%).

The bigger picture
For renters considering a move, this data offers a map of where others are already looking, signaling which metros may be more competitive and which may still be under the radar. On Zillow Rentals®, renters can explore listings from across the country with 3D virtual tours that let them walk through properties from anywhere, and a reusable renter application that covers credit and background checks across multiple properties, so searching somewhere new doesn't mean starting over each time.

For property managers, the analysis reveals how far their potential tenant pool can extend beyond the local metro. Reaching that audience on Zillow Rentals® could mean the difference in filling a vacancy.

About Zillow Group
Zillow Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people.

As the most visited real estate app and website in the United States, Zillow connects hundreds of millions of consumers with innovative technology, trusted agents and loan officers, and seamless digital solutions. With industry-leading tools and resources, Zillow supercharges real estate professionals so they can grow their businesses and deliver exceptional client experiences. For renters and housing providers, Zillow offers not only a robust marketplace but a set of end-to-end products and services to streamline applications, leases, payments and more.

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SOURCE Zillow