By Ian Friedman, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson

Mar. 9--Even though your landlord has still not fixed that leaky faucet, Tucson was recently ranked as a top 10 "college town" in terms of overall apartment renter satisfaction.

The list of the top 10 cities, published by ApartmentRatings.com, includes other prominent college towns such as Ann Arbor, Mich., home to the University of Michigan, and Tuscaloosa, Ala., which boasts the University of Alabama.

Davis, Calif., home to a branch of the University of California, was ranked first in terms of renter satisfaction. Tucson came in ninth.

This is the first time the rankings have been published, said Joe Ewaskiw, spokesman for Apartment Ratings.com. The Web site has been up since 2000.

Scores are based on former and current residents' ratings of apartments, he said. The rankings are not limited to student housing."

The Web site lists about 300 apartment complexes in Tucson, and users are able to rank them anonymously based on factors such as parking, noise, safety and maintenance.

ApartmentRatings.com had 1.2 million visitors in January and currently lists about 919,000 ratings for more than 60,000 apartments nationwide, according to Ewaskiw.

Happiest renters

College towns with the happiest apartment renters:

1. Davis, Calif.

2. Athens, Ga.

3. Amherst, Mass.

4. Ann Arbor, Mich.

5. Albany, N.Y.

6. Tuscaloosa, Ala.

7. Madison, Wis.

8. Knoxville, Tenn.

9. Tucson, Ariz.

10. Washington, D.C.

Apartment ratings

Average apartment approval ratings out of five possible points:

Davis, Calif. 3.20

Ann Arbor, Mich. 3.13

Madison, Wis. 3.07

Tucson 3.02

Tempe 2.82

For more information

Search apartment ratings and reviews at ApartmentRatings.com

Top Tucson apartments

(with 20 or more ratings)

1. Altamira Apartments, 855 E. River Rd.

2. Woodridge Apartments, 8225 E. Speedway.

3. Brittany Court Apartments, 9000 E. Speedway.

4. Camino Seco Village, 77 N. Camino Seco.

5. Capistrano Apartments, 2929 E. Sixth St.

Contact NASA Space Grant intern Ian Friedman at 434-4083 or at friedman@azstarnet.com

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