City-Level Median Rent-to-Income Ratios: A 2026 Study of U.S. Cities
Pairing U.S. Census Bureau median gross rent with median household income across major U.S. cities, this study compares the annualized median-rent-to-median-income ratio across places.
Published September 2026 · Data: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year · 182 cities (population ≥ 150,000)
Key findings
- The highest city-level median rent-to-income ratio among major U.S. cities is 35.3%, in Hialeah, Florida.
- The lowest is 14.7%, in Cary, North Carolina — 2.4× Hialeah's ratio compared to Cary's.
- The median ratio across the 182 qualifying cities is 23.2%.
Highest city-level median rent-to-income ratios
| # | City | Rent-to-income ratio | Median gross rent | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hialeah, FL | 35.3% | $1,458/mo | $49,531 |
| 2 | Newark, NJ | 32.9% | $1,273/mo | $46,460 |
| 3 | Miami, FL | 32.7% | $1,494/mo | $54,858 |
| 4 | Paterson, NJ | 32.1% | $1,392/mo | $52,092 |
| 5 | Detroit, MI | 31.4% | $989/mo | $37,761 |
| 6 | Glendale, CA | 29.6% | $2,002/mo | $81,219 |
| 7 | Oceanside, CA | 28.8% | $2,078/mo | $86,701 |
| 8 | Escondido, CA | 28.4% | $1,833/mo | $77,554 |
| 9 | Hollywood, FL | 28.3% | $1,463/mo | $61,958 |
| 10 | Los Angeles, CA | 28.2% | $1,791/mo | $76,244 |
| 11 | Birmingham, AL | 28.1% | $995/mo | $42,464 |
| 12 | Ontario, CA | 28.1% | $1,826/mo | $78,070 |
| 13 | Jackson, MS | 27.9% | $980/mo | $42,193 |
| 14 | Pembroke Pines, FL | 27.6% | $1,787/mo | $77,657 |
| 15 | Cleveland, OH | 27.4% | $851/mo | $37,271 |
Lowest city-level median rent-to-income ratios
| # | City | Rent-to-income ratio | Median gross rent | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary, NC | 14.7% | $1,538/mo | $125,317 |
| 2 | Frisco, TX | 15.0% | $1,803/mo | $144,567 |
| 3 | Sioux Falls, SD | 16.1% | $965/mo | $71,785 |
| 4 | Overland Park, KS | 16.4% | $1,378/mo | $100,876 |
| 5 | Joliet, IL | 16.6% | $1,174/mo | $84,971 |
| 6 | Anchorage municipality, AK | 17.6% | $1,405/mo | $95,731 |
| 7 | Lincoln, NE | 17.7% | $998/mo | $67,846 |
| 8 | Huntsville, AL | 18.0% | $1,020/mo | $67,874 |
| 9 | Wichita, KS | 18.1% | $915/mo | $60,712 |
| 10 | McKinney, TX | 18.4% | $1,740/mo | $113,286 |
Methodology
This is a city-level median rent-to-income ratio: annualized U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year median gross rent divided by ACS 5-Year median household income, for incorporated places with a population of at least 150,000. It compares two independent city-wide medians — it is not a measure of any individual household's rent burden, does not indicate what share of households exceed any spending threshold, and does not reflect current market-rate rent (ACS figures are multi-year estimates, not real-time listings). This calculation combines separate ACS city-level estimates for median gross rent and median household income. They are not a matched measure of renter households and their own incomes. A renter's actual share of income spent on rent depends on their specific income and lease, which this ratio does not measure. Per-city data and sources are available in the city profiles.
Cite this study
Free to reuse with attribution:
Source: <a href="https://www.relocatefacts.com/study/rent-to-income-ratio-2026">RelocateFacts — City-Level Median Rent-to-Income Ratios (2026)</a>
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