Guide

Which states have the cheapest rent?

In the Census Bureau's 5-year survey ending in 2024, median rent including utilities was lowest in West Virginia, $872 a month, followed by South Dakota ($946) and Arkansas ($947). It was highest in California, $2,036, and the U.S. median was $1,413. Measured against what renters earn, rent took the smallest share of income in North Dakota (25.0%) and the largest in Florida (35.2%).

Figures update themselves from 6 charts; newest data as of September 30, 2026.

Lowest median rent, 2024

$872

A month with utilities, in West Virginia

U.S. median rent, 2024

$1,413

Highest: California, $2,036

Change in rent prices, 12 months to September 2026

2.8%

Nationwide, from the Consumer Price Index

The cheapest and most expensive states

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Of the 50 states and D.C., the five with the lowest median rent were West Virginia ($872), South Dakota ($946), Arkansas ($947), North Dakota ($954) and Mississippi ($954). The five highest were California ($2,036), Hawaii ($1,971), District of Columbia ($1,954), Massachusetts ($1,762) and Colorado ($1,761).

The median is the rent in the middle: half of renters pay more and half less. Median rent in California was 2.3 times West Virginia's.

Cheapest compared with what renters earn

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A low rent isn't always an easy one to pay, because incomes differ too. The typical renter household in North Dakota spent 25.0% of its income on rent and utilities, the smallest share of any state, followed by South Dakota (25.9%) and Wyoming (27.0%). In Florida it was 35.2%, the largest.

Across the U.S. the figure was 30.6%. Renters who spend more than 30% of their income on housing are often called cost-burdened.

Cities and counties

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Among the 332 U.S. cities of 100,000 people or more, median rent was lowest in Toledo, OH ($901), Dayton, OH ($918) and Brownsville, TX ($923), and highest in San Mateo, CA ($3,077). Across all 3,137 counties it ranged from $264 in Cottle County, Texas to $2,922 in San Mateo County, California; small counties' figures have wide margins of error.

Is rent still going up?

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Rent prices nationwide changed 2.8% in the 12 months to September 2026, against 2.7% in the 12 months to August 2026. Increases reached 8.8% in March 2023, and rent in September 2026 was 2.5 times its level of January 2000.

What these numbers can and can't tell you

The state, city and county rents come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. They are medians of gross rent (rent plus utilities) averaged over five years of surveys, so they trail the latest rent increases, and each one is an estimate with a margin of error.

The national change in rent is the Consumer Price Index for rent, which follows the rent of the same homes over time: it shows how fast rents rise, not what a new lease costs. BLS collected no prices in October 2025, during a lapse in federal funding.

When the Census Bureau or BLS publishes new figures, the charts update themselves, and so does every number on this page.

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Sources

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (Public domain (U.S. government work). This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.), data as of December 31, 2024, in these charts:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (rent of primary residence) (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026, in these charts: