Rent burden by city, 2026

Name: Rent burden by US metro, 2026
Creator: Slower Sundays

How much of a typical household's income a 2-bedroom rent takes in 118 US metros. Miami is first at 31.9%, and Florida's three biggest metros, Miami, Tampa and Orlando, all take a larger share of income than New York, San Francisco, Boston or Chicago.

By Sol Lakein, founder of Slower Sundays. Updated November 2026.

31.9%Highest burdenMiami, FL
22.1%US$1,563 rent, $84,780 income
23.5%New York metroRank 24 of 118

The key findings

Miami tops all 118 metros at 31.9% of median income, against 22.1% nationally.
Florida's big metros outrank the expensive northern ones. New York is at 23.5%, San Francisco 24.4%, Chicago 21% and Boston 23.9%, because incomes there are higher.
Fond du Lac, WI has the lowest burden at 15.1%.
Read close ranks with care. Census margins of error mean metros within about a point of each other are statistically tied. In our check, Miami is significantly first, and the top Florida metros are significantly above New York, San Francisco, Boston and Chicago.

Download the full data (CSV) · Reporters: contact us for comment.

All 118 metros, highest burden first

#	Metro	Rent share of income	2-bed rent	Median household income
1	Miami, FL	31.9%	$2,211	$83,261
2	Los Angeles, CA	27.9%	$2,328	$100,145
3	Tampa, FL	27%	$1,861	$82,651
4	Sarasota, FL	26.9%	$1,975	$88,185
5	San Diego, CA	26.9%	$2,483	$110,941
6	Melbourne, FL	26.3%	$1,755	$80,032
7	Lakeland, FL	26.2%	$1,437	$65,722
8	Orlando, FL	26.1%	$1,855	$85,175
9	Fort Myers, FL	26%	$1,849	$85,191
10	Daytona Beach, FL	26%	$1,638	$75,552
11	Oxnard, CA	25.4%	$2,399	$113,344
12	Fresno, CA	25%	$1,560	$74,752
13	Bloomington, IN	24.9%	$1,358	$65,429
14	Riverside, CA	24.5%	$1,940	$94,933
15	San Francisco, CA	24.4%	$2,766	$136,020
16	New Orleans, LA	24.4%	$1,376	$67,798
17	Phoenix, AZ	24%	$1,825	$91,093
18	Boston, MA	23.9%	$2,370	$118,759
19	Las Vegas, NV	23.9%	$1,635	$82,187
20	Jacksonville, FL	23.8%	$1,642	$82,946
21	Poughkeepsie, NY	23.6%	$1,916	$97,304
22	New Haven, CT	23.6%	$1,869	$95,071
23	Wilmington, NC	23.5%	$1,658	$84,837
24	New York City, NY	23.5%	$1,997	$102,139
25	Denver, CO	23.5%	$2,110	$107,733
26	Charleston, SC	23.4%	$1,817	$93,054
27	Savannah, GA	23.4%	$1,676	$86,076
28	Myrtle Beach, SC	23.3%	$1,383	$71,086
29	Asheville, NC	23.2%	$1,492	$77,010
30	Jackson, MS	23.1%	$1,190	$61,772
31	Honolulu, HI	22.8%	$2,134	$112,244
32	Atlanta, GA	22.7%	$1,781	$94,096
33	Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	22.7%	$1,794	$94,702
34	Sacramento, CA	22.5%	$1,922	$102,327
35	Bakersfield, CA	22.5%	$1,398	$74,621
36	Portland, OR	22.3%	$1,850	$99,767
37	Knoxville, TN	22.2%	$1,452	$78,591
38	Tucson, AZ	22.2%	$1,377	$74,364
39	Augusta, GA	22.2%	$1,315	$71,159
40	McAllen, TX	22.1%	$1,030	$55,872
41	Seattle, WA	22.1%	$2,214	$120,018
42	Rochester, NY	21.9%	$1,428	$78,194
43	Richmond, VA	21.8%	$1,684	$92,800
44	Columbus, OH	21.8%	$1,528	$84,015
45	Nashville, TN	21.7%	$1,666	$92,066
46	Allentown, PA	21.7%	$1,633	$90,147
47	Madison, WI	21.7%	$1,647	$91,138
48	Philadelphia, PA	21.6%	$1,723	$95,683
49	Memphis area, TN/AR	21.6%	$1,278	$70,884
50	Houston, TX	21.6%	$1,562	$86,853
51	San Antonio, TX	21.6%	$1,460	$81,219
52	Virginia Beach, VA	21.6%	$1,567	$87,126
53	Austin, TX	21.5%	$1,836	$102,427
54	Charlotte, NC	21.4%	$1,589	$89,067
55	El Paso, TX	21.4%	$1,100	$61,596
56	San Jose, CA	21.4%	$2,973	$166,364
57	Durham, NC	21.3%	$1,630	$91,715
58	Boise, ID	21.3%	$1,652	$92,877
59	Providence, RI	21.3%	$1,641	$92,239
60	Greenville, SC	21.2%	$1,279	$72,282
61	Detroit, MI	21.2%	$1,398	$79,203
62	Hartford, CT	21.2%	$1,731	$98,103
63	Worcester, MA	21.2%	$1,757	$99,598
64	Bridgeport, CT	21.1%	$2,118	$120,502
65	Spokane, WA	21.1%	$1,424	$80,969
66	Chicago, IL	21%	$1,648	$93,989
67	Colorado Springs, CO	21%	$1,701	$97,198
68	Stockton, CA	20.9%	$1,667	$95,680
69	Baltimore, MD	20.7%	$1,764	$102,403
70	Texarkana, TX/AR	20.7%	$1,006	$58,415
71	Greensboro, NC	20.6%	$1,218	$71,087
72	Muncie, IN	20.6%	$919	$53,422
73	Columbia, SC	20.6%	$1,314	$76,375
74	Spartanburg, SC	20.4%	$1,148	$67,670
75	Salt Lake City, UT	20.4%	$1,721	$101,152
76	Washington, DC	20.3%	$2,226	$131,346
77	Albany, NY	20.3%	$1,548	$91,547
78	Fort Wayne, IN	20.2%	$1,216	$72,269
79	Chattanooga, TN	20%	$1,313	$78,790
80	Indianapolis, IN	20%	$1,397	$83,815
81	Louisville, KY	19.9%	$1,271	$76,510
82	Tulsa, OK	19.8%	$1,187	$72,014
83	Raleigh, NC	19.7%	$1,673	$101,695
84	Milwaukee, WI	19.6%	$1,313	$80,344
85	Grand Rapids, MI	19.6%	$1,388	$84,764
86	Albuquerque, NM	19.6%	$1,302	$79,728
87	Morgantown, WV	19.5%	$1,048	$64,391
88	Cleveland, OH	19.5%	$1,207	$74,393
89	Baton Rouge, LA	19.5%	$1,143	$70,472
90	Kansas City, MO	19.4%	$1,418	$87,503
91	Little Rock, AR	19.4%	$1,170	$72,308
92	Minneapolis, MN	19.3%	$1,645	$102,351
93	Toledo, OH	19.2%	$1,094	$68,473
94	Oklahoma City, OK	19.1%	$1,199	$75,433
95	Birmingham, AL	19%	$1,194	$75,472
96	Winston-Salem, NC	19%	$1,117	$70,675
97	Buffalo, NY	18.8%	$1,205	$77,062
98	Omaha, NE	18.8%	$1,366	$87,420
99	Harrisburg, PA	18.8%	$1,360	$86,837
100	Dayton, OH	18.5%	$1,170	$76,029
101	Syracuse, NY	18.5%	$1,221	$79,246
102	Cincinnati, OH	18.4%	$1,316	$85,866
103	Pittsburgh, PA	18.2%	$1,185	$78,172
104	Terre Haute, IN	18.1%	$901	$59,900
105	Ogden, UT	18.1%	$1,550	$102,694
106	Huntsville, AL	17.9%	$1,350	$90,308
107	Paducah, KY	17.9%	$886	$59,339
108	Akron, OH	17.8%	$1,141	$77,114
109	Evansville, IN	17.5%	$1,087	$74,563
110	St. Louis, MO	17.5%	$1,223	$83,656
111	Southwest Michigan, MI	17.4%	$1,063	$73,126
112	Fayetteville, AR	17%	$1,232	$86,840
113	Jackson, MI	17%	$1,063	$75,221
114	Wichita, KS	16.9%	$1,054	$74,866
115	Des Moines, IA	16.1%	$1,184	$88,343
116	Provo, UT	16%	$1,444	$108,205
117	Topeka, KS	15.8%	$983	$74,484
118	Fond du Lac, WI	15.1%	$991	$78,799

Method

Rent burden = 12 x median gross rent for a 2-bedroom ÷ median household income, both from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates (tables B25031 and B19013), for every metro area we cover. Gross rent includes utilities. The measure compares places; it does not describe any one household. HUD treats households paying more than 30% of income for housing as cost-burdened.

Questions people ask

Which city has the highest rent burden?

Miami, FL. A median 2-bedroom rent of $2,211 a month takes 31.9% of the metro's median household income of $83,261, against 22.1% for the US (US Census Bureau, ACS 2025).

Is rent more affordable in New York than in Florida?

Relative to local incomes, yes. Rent takes 23.5% of median income in the New York metro (rank 24 of 118), less than in 9 Florida metros we cover, because New York incomes are much higher.

Where is rent most affordable relative to income?

Fond du Lac, WI, where a 2-bedroom takes 15.1% of median household income.

How is rent burden calculated?

Twelve months of the median gross rent for a 2-bedroom (rent plus utilities), divided by median household income, both from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates. Households of all types and incomes are included, so it compares places rather than predicting any one family's budget.

Can I use this data?

Yes. Download the CSV on this page and credit Slower Sundays with a link to this page. Census figures are estimates with margins of error; differences of a point or less between metros are not significant.

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