The Most Undervalued Rental Markets in America Right Now

We built a metric to answer a question every renter actually has but rent rankings never address: is rent here a good deal right now, or are you paying a premium? It is called the Rent Reality Score, and it compares a city's current median rent to where its own 10-year trajectory says it should be. A score above 50 means rent is sitting below its long-run trend, which is exactly what you want as a renter.

Here are the ten most undervalued large rental markets in America right now, all renting well below their own historical trend. Every city links to its full rent data and price history.

#CityRent Reality ScoreMedian rentExpected by trendvs trend1Cape Coral, FL91$1,946$2,447-20.5%2Glendale, AZ90$1,549$1,940-20.2%3Phoenix, AZ88$1,571$1,941-19.1%4Mesa, AZ87$1,561$1,911-18.3%5Tempe, AZ87$1,661$2,037-18.5%6Lehigh Acres, FL86$1,891$2,300-17.8%7Surprise, AZ85$1,931$2,345-17.6%8Gilbert, AZ84$2,037$2,451-16.9%9Lancaster, CA84$2,362$2,844-17%10Austin, TX82$1,567$1,864-16%

Why metro Phoenix dominates the list

If this list looks like a map of greater Phoenix, that is not a coincidence. Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Glendale, and Gilbert all rank among the best values in the country. Phoenix was one of the fastest-rising rental markets in the nation during 2021 and 2022, then added a wave of new apartment supply just as demand cooled. The result is a market where the typical renter today pays close to 20% less than the trajectory the metro was on. Rent in Phoenix sits at $1,571/mo against an expected $1,941/mo.

Florida's Gulf Coast and the post-boom reset

Cape Coral tops the entire national list with a Rent Reality Score of 91, renting roughly 20% below trend at $1,946/mo. Neighboring Lehigh Acres is close behind. Both were pandemic-era hotspots that have since given back a meaningful share of their run-up, which is good news for anyone renting there today.

Austin: the boomtown that cooled

Austin is the clearest big-city example of the pattern. After one of the steepest rent spikes of any US city, Austin has cooled to roughly 16% below its own trend, with median rent at $1,567/mo. It is a reminder that "undervalued" is about a city versus its own history, not absolute price.

How to use the Rent Reality Score

A high score does not mean a city is cheap in dollar terms. It means rent there is low relative to where that specific market has been heading, which is the signal that matters if you are deciding whether to sign now or wait. Browse the full best-value rankings, see the other end of the spectrum in our most overheated markets, or read the full undervalued and overheated markets study with the complete methodology and downloadable dataset.