U.S. Cities with the Lowest Median Rent

What the data show

Youngstown city, Ohio leads the eligible exact-value table at $728 per month . The ranking contains 1,932 places. Among the first 100 rows, Ohio has 14; Illinois has 12; Alabama has 6. These counts describe ranked places, not the share of all residents living in those states.

Applying a larger-city threshold of 100,000 residents changes the leading examples to Toledo city, OH ($901); Dayton city, OH ($918); Brownsville city, TX ($923) . This sensitivity check uses the same metric and precision rules, and shows why a population cutoff must accompany any headline about the “top” city.

Places with open-ended median gross rent estimates

8 places meeting the population threshold have source medians expressed as a range. They are excluded from the numbered exact-value table. Their order here is alphabetical, not a rank.

• Cupertino city, California : At least $3,500
• Danville town, California : At least $3,500
• Foster City city, California : At least $3,500
• Los Altos city, California : At least $3,500
• Mountain House city, California : At least $3,500
• Rancho Palos Verdes city, California : At least $3,500
• Saratoga city, California : At least $3,500
• Southlake city, Texas : At least $3,500

Median gross rent ranking and city comparison table

Filter the complete eligible set by name, state or a higher population threshold. The rank column keeps each place’s position in the original national eligible universe. Downloads contain all matching rows, including rows on later table pages.

Top 100 of 1,932 eligible places. National ranks use unrounded values.

What median gross rent includes

Gross rent combines the contractual rent with estimated tenant-paid utilities and fuels. The median represents the middle of the distribution for renter-occupied units paying cash rent. It is not an advertised asking rent, the rent of a newly signed lease or a HUD fair-market-rent benchmark. Apartments with utilities bundled into their lease need a consistent comparison with apartments billed separately.

The ACS five-year estimate pools observations over 2020–2024, with dollar amounts standardized to 2024 dollars. The table does not claim that an apartment is available today at the historical median. Housing type, bedroom count, location, lease timing and the share of subsidized or long-established tenancies can all affect how the distribution relates to a specific search.

Low rent can coexist with substantial rent burden

The income column describes all households, including owners and renters. Dividing annualized median rent by median household income creates a comparison of two distributions; it does not calculate the burden experienced by a typical renter. The numerator and denominator do not identify the same household, and owner incomes also contribute to the income median.

For a more direct affordability question, follow each city’s housing-cost page to inspect the share of renter-occupied units spending at least 30% or 50% of household income on gross rent. Lower rents can still be difficult to pay where renter incomes are lower. We therefore publish this as a rent ranking rather than a list of universally affordable places to live.

How we handle survey precision and missing rents

Eligible places have at least 20,000 residents in the July 2025 population estimate, an exact positive rent median, a published numerical margin of error and a margin no larger than half the estimate. This broad precision screen removes particularly uncertain estimates. It does not make every remaining pairwise difference statistically significant.

A source median reported as an open-ended interval is not an exact dollar amount. Such medians are excluded from the numbered list and counted separately. Missing and suppressed cells are also excluded; they are never treated as zero-dollar rents. The reference universe and exclusion counts are shown alongside the table.

Equal rent estimates receive equal competition ranks. Unrounded dollar values determine the order; margins of error remain visible. If two estimates are close, use Census statistical testing rather than assuming their position in this table proves a meaningful difference. The filtering and CSV tools preserve the national rank and original uncertainty for each displayed place.

Ranking criteria, exclusions and sources

Starting universe: 19,483 PEP place profiles. Population cutoff: 20,000 residents , applied to July 1, 2025. 1,946 places meet that cutoff; 1,932 enter the numbered ranking. 14 are excluded from numbered ranks , including 8 open-ended medians; other exclusions concern unavailable or nonpositive estimates, unavailable MOEs, precision, and the stated worker threshold where applicable .

Ties use competition ranking: two places tied for first share rank 1, and the next is rank 3. The numerical MOE must be at most half the positive point estimate. This is an editorial precision rule. An exact median means a published point estimate, not an error-free measurement. Missing records never become zeros.

Original source: ACS B25064_001 . Census statistical testing guidance explains how to evaluate differences. Our methodology documents transformations and geographic joins. Source releases and the update log identify publication dates. Submit a correction with a source and page address.

Questions about this city ranking

Are these the cheapest cities to rent an apartment today?

The ranking measures historical median gross rent paid by existing renters, not current available listings. Use it to investigate cities, then check current offers with the same bedroom and utility assumptions.

Why include utilities in rent?

The ACS gross-rent definition adds estimated utilities and fuels paid by tenants to contract rent. This improves comparability when leases include different services.