Not every city is built the same, and that’s also true of rental markets.
While some cities are seeing cooling rents and more affordable housing efforts, rent prices in others continue to rise.
A recent WalletHub study ranked 182 US cities, including the 150 most populous cities in the country and at least two of the most populous in each state, by how much renters spend on rent, on average.
To calculate the share of income spent on rent, WalletHub used US Census Bureau data on median annual gross rent and median household income for each surveyed city.
“A general rule of thumb is that rent should not exceed 30% of the median income,” Maggie Rong Hu, an assistant professor of real estate at Baruch College in New York, said in the study. “This ensures that renters can comfortably afford their housing without sacrificing other essential living expenses.”
On average, people living in the 31 cities listed below spend about 18.5% of their income on rent, lower than the 23.46% across all measured cities.
In the most expensive cities in the study, including Miami, Detroit, and Newark, renters can spend up to 33.8% of their income on rent.
See the most affordable cities for renters across the US in 2026.
30. (Tie) Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky
Income spent on rent: 20.10%
Income spent on rent
30. (Tie) South Burlington, Vermont
Income spent on rent: 20.10%
Income spent on rent
29. Chesapeake, Virginia
Income spent on rent: 19.96%
Income spent on rent
28. Amarillo, Texas
Income spent on rent: 19.88%
Income spent on rent
27. Des Moines, Iowa
Income spent on rent: 19.84%
Income spent on rent
26. Oklahoma City
Income spent on rent: 19.75%
Income spent on rent
25. Plano, Texas
Income spent on rent: 19.68%
Income spent on rent
24. Seattle
Income spent on rent: 19.67%
Income spent on rent
23. West Valley City, Utah
Income spent on rent: 19.57%
Income spent on rent
22. Fort Wayne, Indiana
Income spent on rent: 19.52%
Income spent on rent
21. Omaha, Nebraska
Income spent on rent: 19.46%
Income spent on rent
20. Fremont, California
Income spent on rent: 19.39%
Income spent on rent
19. Fort Smith, Arkansas
Income spent on rent: 19.35%
Income spent on rent
18. Laredo, Texas
Income spent on rent: 19.34%
Income spent on rent
17. Huntsville, Alabama
Income spent on rent: 18.81%
Income spent on rent
16. Rapid City, South Dakota
Income spent on rent: 18.78%
Income spent on rent
15. Columbia, Maryland
Income spent on rent: 18.64%
Income spent on rent
14. Billings, Montana
Income spent on rent: 18.53%
Income spent on rent
13. Warwick, Rhode Island
Income spent on rent: 18.44%
Income spent on rent
12. Lincoln, Nebraska
Income spent on rent: 18.13%
Income spent on rent
11. Wichita, Kansas
Income spent on rent: 18.11%
Income spent on rent
10. Overland Park, Kansas
Income spent on rent: 17.34%
Income spent on rent
9. Anchorage, Alaska
Income spent on rent: 17.30%
Income spent on rent
8. Casper, Wyoming
Income spent on rent: 17.24%
Income spent on rent
7. Juneau, Alaska
Income spent on rent: 17.04%
Income spent on rent
6. Cheyenne, Wyoming
Income spent on rent: 17.02%
Income spent on rent
5. Fargo, North Dakota
Income spent on rent: 16.94%
Income spent on rent
4. Charleston, West Virginia
Income spent on rent: 16.56%
Income spent on rent
3. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Income spent on rent: 16.48%
Income spent on rent
2. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Income spent on rent: 16.35%
Income spent on rent
1. Bismarck, North Dakota
Income spent on rent: 15.29%
Income spent on rent