States with the cheapest rent

Understanding states with the cheapest rent

Across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, median rent spans from $872 in West Virginia at the top of the list to $2,036 in California at the bottom. The three at the top are West Virginia, South Dakota, and Arkansas; the three at the bottom are the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and California.

The states with the lowest median rent are mostly in Appalachia, the Deep South, and the northern Plains. West Virginia, South Dakota, Arkansas, Mississippi, and North Dakota all sit below $1,000 a month, roughly two-thirds of the national median and less than half of what renters pay in California or Hawaii.

A low rent is not the same as an affordable one. The second column shows the median gross rent as a share of household income, and it barely moves from the top of this list to the bottom: most states sit between 27% and 33%. Where rents are cheap, incomes are usually lower too, so the typical renter in a low-rent state spends about the same share of income on housing as one in a high-rent state.

Rent burden is lowest in the northern Plains: North Dakota and South Dakota pair low rents with household incomes only slightly below the national median. For someone moving with an income that does not depend on the local job market, such as a remote salary or a pension, a low-rent state is where the statewide numbers favor them most. Check rents in the specific city first: a state median blends small towns with metro areas.