Nearly 83 percent of Bay Area renters plan to leave, says survey

Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images The majority of renters in American cities plan to move before they...

Renters in big cities are as transient and unpredictable as the millennial stars of HBO and Netflix dramedies would have us to believe.

A recent study by Apartment List surveyed 24,000 renters in 50 U.S. metros and found that 64 percent plan to move to another city before they settle down. In San Francisco metropolitan area that number is 82.8 percent.

The demographic makeup of renters helps explain the nationwide trend, according to Sydney Bennet, an Apartment List research associate who worked on the study. Many of these renters are young professionals in their 20s or 30s who move for jobs, and not necessarily to settle down permanently, Bennet says.

Where renters head is determined by jobs and affordability more than any other factors, according to the study.

While people are always moving for specific job offers, Bennet finds that many who live in metro areas with struggling economies, particularly in the Rust Belt, want to relocate to places with better economies.

Those moving out of solid job markets, like New York or the Bay Area, typically cite the exorbitant cost of living as their reason for migrating.

In San Francisco, 63 percent of those planning to leave blame lack of affordability. While this is a common concern among coastal cities, it is higher in San Francisco than any of the other 50 metros studied, and 10 points higher in S.F. than in New York.

"It really is affordability concerns driving people away in San Francisco," says Bennet, "not that they don't like San Francisco."

In fact, people don't even seem to mind the fog and cold summers: Only 0.4 percent of those who plan to move from San Francisco blame the weather, lower than any other city studied.

SFGATE recently spoke with people about what made them leave the city and how they feel about the decision now. Read their thoughts in the slideshow below.

Click on to read about the experiences of those who've moved on. Click on to read about the experiences of those who've moved on. Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Nearly 83 percent of Bay Area renters plan to leave, says survey 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

Trends in San Francisco are not unlike those in other West Coast cities. In Seattle, 44 percent of renters planning to move cited affordability as their reason.

Related: The income needed to buy a home in the Bay Area has doubled in five years.

But with exorbitant rents in coastal job hubs and fewer career prospects in the cheaper cities, where are renters to move?

According to the study, many seek out a sweet spot, generally moving south and west to up-and-coming cities.

"Metros that aren't cheap but still have thriving job markets like Denver or Austin are really popular because they provide more affordability than San Francisco or New York and more jobs than some of the cheaper cities as well," says Bennet.

While less common, other renters plan to move more than once, renting for a few years post college in an expensive, job-rich city before moving elsewhere to settle down and start a family.

"Affordability becomes a really big factor when renters want to become homeowners," Bennet says. "They realize it might take them 30 years to save up for a down payment in San Francisco but could buy a home right now if they moved to in Dallas, for example."

While in the past, San Francisco has been a major destination for these sort of temporary yuppies, the cost of living has climbed too much to maintain even this trend. San Francisco is not in the top three destinations for renters leaving any of the 50 metros studied, except Pittsburg, where Morgantown, W.V., ranks number one.

Nationwide, job-seekers are more likely to favor moving to Atlanta, D.C. or Los Angeles.

Those leaving San Francisco often head to L.A. or Sacramento, according to the study. The study found that Salt Lake City was a popular destination for those leavig.

Although the cultures of uber-liberal San Francisco and heavily Mormon Utah may seem at odds, Salt Lake City actually tends to be much more liberal than the rest of the state, according to Bennet, not unlike Austin is in Texas. Additionally, plenty of famers' markets and opportunities for outdoor activity makes Salt Lake City appealing to Bay Area residents.

It's worth noting, Bennet admits, that not all renters who consider settling down in another city will actually make the move. Many people, sick of scarce jobs and high rents, may just vent their frustration by considering how much greener the grass must be on the other side.