Where rent takes the biggest share of income
Median gross rent as a percentage of household income, for renter households, from the Census ACS. Higher means rent is harder to carry relative to local pay.
Top of the list: Florida at 35.2%. Bottom: North Dakota at 25.0%.
| # | State | Rent as % of income | Median rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 35.2% | $1,669 |
| 2 | Hawaii | 33.2% | $1,971 |
| 3 | Nevada | 33.1% | $1,597 |
| 4 | California | 32.8% | $2,036 |
| 5 | Louisiana | 32.8% | $1,064 |
| 6 | Colorado | 31.4% | $1,761 |
| 7 | Connecticut | 31.4% | $1,488 |
| 8 | Georgia | 31.3% | $1,393 |
| 9 | Oregon | 31.3% | $1,525 |
| 10 | New York | 31.2% | $1,621 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 31.1% | $1,180 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | 30.9% | $1,762 |
| 13 | New Jersey | 30.9% | $1,720 |
| 14 | Texas | 30.9% | $1,403 |
| 15 | Arizona | 30.8% | $1,543 |
| 16 | Maryland | 30.8% | $1,705 |
| 17 | Mississippi | 30.7% | $954 |
| 18 | Michigan | 30.2% | $1,129 |
| 19 | New Mexico | 30.1% | $1,067 |
| 20 | Washington | 30.0% | $1,760 |
| 21 | Delaware | 29.9% | $1,401 |
| 22 | Alabama | 29.5% | $1,007 |
| 23 | North Carolina | 29.5% | $1,228 |
| 24 | Tennessee | 29.5% | $1,189 |
| 25 | Maine | 29.4% | $1,139 |
| 26 | New Hampshire | 29.4% | $1,491 |
| 27 | Vermont | 29.4% | $1,234 |
| 28 | Virginia | 29.4% | $1,579 |
| 29 | West Virginia | 29.4% | $872 |
| 30 | Minnesota | 29.2% | $1,280 |
| 31 | Pennsylvania | 29.2% | $1,209 |
| 32 | Rhode Island | 29.2% | $1,342 |
| 33 | Illinois | 29.1% | $1,274 |
| 34 | Indiana | 29.1% | $1,062 |
| 35 | Utah | 28.9% | $1,496 |
| 36 | Idaho | 28.7% | $1,238 |
| 37 | District of Columbia | 28.6% | $1,954 |
| 38 | Oklahoma | 28.4% | $1,014 |
| 39 | Ohio | 28.3% | $1,034 |
| 40 | Kentucky | 28.1% | $967 |
| 41 | Missouri | 28.1% | $1,033 |
| 42 | Nebraska | 27.9% | $1,072 |
| 43 | Montana | 27.8% | $1,081 |
| 44 | Alaska | 27.7% | $1,419 |
| 45 | Arkansas | 27.6% | $947 |
| 46 | Iowa | 27.4% | $972 |
| 47 | Wisconsin | 27.2% | $1,087 |
| 48 | Kansas | 27.1% | $1,060 |
| 49 | Wyoming | 27.0% | $992 |
| 50 | South Dakota | 25.9% | $946 |
| 51 | North Dakota | 25.0% | $954 |
US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · B25064_001E, B25077_001E, B19013_001E, B25071_001E, B25092_001E, B25103_001E · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official data
Understanding where rent takes the biggest share of income
Across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, rent as % of income spans from 35.2% in Florida at the top of the list to 25.0% in North Dakota at the bottom. The three at the top are Florida, Hawaii, and Nevada; the three at the bottom are Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota.
Florida has the highest median rent burden in the country: the typical renter household spends about 35% of its income on gross rent. Hawaii, Nevada, Louisiana, and California follow at about 33%. All of them are above the 30% line that federal housing programs use to define a cost-burdened household.
This list does not simply repeat the highest-rent ranking. Louisiana's median rent is about a quarter below the national median, yet its burden is among the highest, because renter incomes there are low. North Dakota and South Dakota are at the bottom of this list, at 25% to 26%, with rents and renter incomes both relatively favorable.
The measure is calculated from renter households only, so it reflects what local renters earn, not the statewide median household income, which includes homeowners. If your income is above the local renter median, your own share will be lower. Use it as a measure of how much pressure a state's rental market puts on the people who live there.