California renters are finicky customers, changing apartments far more often than the typical American tenant. But when they find the right place, they stay longer than the national norm.

That’s what my trusty spreadsheet learned after reviewing RentCafe’s second-quarter report on how tough it is to find an apartment in 136 U.S. markets, including a dozen from the Golden State. RentCafe stats follow rental patterns primarily at large complexes.

Among the apartment benchmarks tracked is a curious loyalty yardstick: the share of tenants who choose to renew their leases.

On a national scale, California renters prefer change. Consider that 11 of the 12 California markets ranked among the 25 lowest renewal rates in the U.S.

California was home to three of the five markets with less than h

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