It takes an annual household income of at least $115,000 to comfortably afford a median-priced home in the United States, according to a recent report by real estate company Redfin. Most new homes in the U.S. sold for over $430,000 in the third quarter of 2023, and the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate recently hit a 23 year high. Prospective home buyers are facing some of the least favorable market conditions in decades.
Prohibitive homeownership costs have made renting the only option for a growing number of Americans. In many U.S. cities, renting remains affordable for a much broader range of income levels. (These are the states where saving enough to buy a house takes the longest.)
Of the 50 metro areas on this list, half are located in the South, and 17 are in the Midwest – regions that tend to have below average living costs. Meanwhile, only three of these metro areas are in the West, and five are in the Northeast. Median rent prices range from $858 per month to about $670 on this list while the median monthly rental price nationwide is approximately $1,300. (These are the states with the worst housing shortages for low income Americans.)
Using data for 384 metro areas from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 50 cities with the lowest rents. Cities are ranked by monthly median gross rental price in 2022. All supplemental data in this story, including rental unit size, housing units occupied by renters, median income, rent-to-income ratios, and population are also from the 2022 ACS.Â
Why This Matters
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24/7 wants to help you better understand your money, and how to spend it wisely. We’re covering the cities with the cheapest rents in America to help you understand if living in your city is worth your hard earned dollar, or whether there is a more affordable option nearby. The cities on this list tend to have lower-than-average incomes, with a typical household earning anywhere from about $44,300 to $74,000 a year, according to the 2022 ACS. Even so, renting remains relatively affordable as median rental prices account for 30% or less of the typical income in these areas.
Scroll below to see the city with the cheapest rents in America: the top 50, ranked:
50. Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $858
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 30.9%
Renter occupied households: 25.7%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.8 rooms
Household income (median): $56,806
49. Johnson City, TN
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $857
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 28.0%
Renter occupied households: 31.3%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.3 rooms
Household income (median): $58,660
48. Springfield, OH
Source: Rob Hat / Wikimedia Commons
Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $856
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 27.4%
Renter occupied households: 32.0%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.8 rooms
Household income (median): $56,132
47. Kokomo, IN
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $856
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 32.6%
Renter occupied households: 25.7%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.4 rooms
Household income (median): $55,297
46. Muncie, IN
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $854
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 34.0%
Renter occupied households: 33.8%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.5 rooms
Household income (median): $54,087
45. Pocatello, ID
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $853
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 29.5%
Renter occupied households: 31.1%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.3 rooms
Household income (median): $61,566
44. Battle Creek, MI
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $853
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 30.0%
Renter occupied households: 23.7%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.3 rooms
Household income (median): $59,522
43. Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $853
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 26.8%
Renter occupied households: 29.4%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.7 rooms
Household income (median): $62,314
42. Las Cruces, NM
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $850
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 36.1%
Renter occupied households: 33.5%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.1 rooms
Household income (median): $51,967
41. Dalton, GA
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $847
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 30.3%
Renter occupied households: 34.2%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.5 rooms
Household income (median): $62,644
40. Rocky Mount, NC
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $847
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 23.9%
Renter occupied households: 39.2%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.7 rooms
Household income (median): $53,896
39. Canton-Massillon, OH
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $842
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 26.5%
Renter occupied households: 30.1%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.9 rooms
Household income (median): $64,546
38. Great Falls, MT
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $837
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 25.1%
Renter occupied households: 30.7%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.3 rooms
Household income (median): $58,698
37. Joplin, MO
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $836
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 27.7%
Renter occupied households: 33.4%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.4 rooms
Household income (median): $54,041
36. Jonesboro, AR
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $832
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 32.0%
Renter occupied households: 37.4%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.2 rooms
Household income (median): $59,582
35. Bay City, MI
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $829
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 29.0%
Renter occupied households: 25.3%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.4 rooms
Household income (median): $55,134
34. Texarkana, TX-AR
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $827
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 33.4%
Renter occupied households: 34.3%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.4 rooms
Household income (median): $48,230
33. Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $826
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 25.2%
Renter occupied households: 30.6%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.6 rooms
Household income (median): $56,563
32. Williamsport, PA
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Monthly rent in 2022 (median): $823
Rent as pct. of household income (median): 26.9%
Renter occupied households: 30.0%
Size of rental unit (median): 4.4 rooms
Household income (median): $62,516
31. Grand Island, NE
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