I know locals with lots of local knowledge and connections in the community who can't find a decent one bedroom apartment in town, never mind a house. Actual whole house rentals are much more rare in the area than apartments regardless of the current lack of vacancy. Most single family houses are owner-occupied, though there are a lot of houses divided into multi-family apartment rental scenarios. But whole houses for rent are not as common for rental options as apartments in the best of times.

I don't mean to be discouraging, just saying this is a problem for everyone and the pickings really are that slim even at the level of apartments.

Keep being persistent, and while it's an unfortunate pain in the ass, consider making a Facebook account if you don't have one, so you can browse listings on Facebook Marketplace as well. A lot rentals get listed there that might not get listed on the real estate sites, and it's less scammy/spammy than Craiglist these days.