Rent-to-income ratio in the 50 biggest US cities: only two come in under 30% for renters

The rent-to-income ratio is the share of a household's gross income that goes to rent, and 30% is the usual line for affordable. Measured against what renters in each city actually earn, typical rent crosses that line in 48 of the 50 largest US cities. Only Austin, at 27.0%, and Raleigh, just under 30%, come in below it.

The figures compare a year of typical asking rent in September 2026, from RentDataNow data built on the Zillow Observed Rent Index, with the median income of renter households in each city in 2024, the latest from the US Census Bureau. Across the 50 cities, the median ratio is 38.3%.

Phoenix's ratio rounds to 30.0% from 30.04%, and Raleigh's rounds up from 29.99%, which is why Raleigh counts as under the line.

The ratio can be high for opposite reasons. In New York and Miami, rent is high relative to what renters earn. Detroit lands near the top even though its typical rent of $1,328 is among the lowest in the group, because its median renter household earned just $31,133. El Paso follows the same pattern. Seattle is the reverse, with high rent offset by a median renter income of $87,642, the fourth highest in the group after San Francisco, San Jose, and San Diego.

Rounding out the top 10 are Oakland at 47.4% and Fresno at 47.3%. Baltimore and Philadelphia sit at 46.6% and 43.3%. Texas cities spread across the list: Houston is at 38.5%, Fort Worth at 35.1%, San Antonio at 33.3%, and Dallas at 31.4%.

These ratios run higher than what most tenants pay. Typical asking rent reflects what a renter signing a new lease faces today and covers houses as well as apartments, while many renters are on older, cheaper leases. Even so, the Census found that in most of these cities, half or more of renter households already spent at least 30% of their income on housing in 2024, from 39% in San Francisco to 65% in Miami.

For what counts as a good ratio for your own budget, see what a good rent-to-income ratio looks like, and for how the national ratio has changed since 1990, the income-to-rent ratio over time.

Sources

• RentDataNow city rent data, anchored to the Zillow Observed Rent Index, September 2026, for the 50 most populous cities in our data
• US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2024, tables B25119 (median household income by tenure) and B25070 (gross rent as a share of income)