What a typical rental costs each month, cheapest first.
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Rankings · Cheapest Rent by City
Cheapest Rent by City, Des Moines, Iowa Leads (2026)
Des Moines, Iowa has the cheapest rent of the 106 US cities we rank, at $1,126 a month (Zillow, August 2026). Toledo, Ohio is next, at $1,128 a month.
By The Honest Local · 106 cities · every value links to its public source
$1,126Des Moines, Iowa leads on the list, the lowest reading of 106 citiesThe typical monthly rent, straight from the tape.
The top five cities
No. 1Des Moines, Iowa$1,126a month
No. 2Toledo, Ohio$1,128a month
No. 3Wichita, Kansas$1,158a month
No. 4Akron, Ohio$1,167a month
No. 5Little Rock, Arkansas$1,212a month
Cheapest Rent by City on the map
Rent, cities
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Cheapest Rent by City, all 106
The full ranking
| Place | a month | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Moines, Iowa | $1,126 |
| 2 | Toledo, Ohiobig city | $1,128 |
| 3 | Wichita, Kansasbig city | $1,158 |
| 4 | Akron, Ohio | $1,167 |
| 5 | Little Rock, Arkansas | $1,212 |
| 6 | Memphis, Tennesseebig city | $1,232 |
| 7 | Dayton, Ohio | $1,251 |
| 8 | Jackson, Mississippi | $1,265 |
| 9 | Oklahoma City, Oklahomabig city | $1,282 |
| 10 | McAllen, Texas | $1,283 |
| 11 | Tulsa, Oklahomabig city | $1,287 |
| 12 | Ogden, Utah | $1,305 |
| 13 | Birmingham, Alabama | $1,322 |
| 14 | Huntsville, Alabama | $1,330 |
| 15 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | $1,333 |
| 16 | Detroit, Michiganbig city | $1,341 |
| 17 | Louisville, Kentuckybig city | $1,353 |
| 18 | Augusta, Georgia | $1,369 |
| 18 | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | $1,369 |
| 20 | San Antonio, Texasbig city | $1,386 |
| 21 | Indianapolis, Indianabig city | $1,389 |
| 22 | Cleveland, Ohiobig city | $1,391 |
| 23 | Greensboro, North Carolinabig city | $1,392 |
| 24 | Cincinnati, Ohiobig city | $1,414 |
| 24 | Omaha, Nebraskabig city | $1,414 |
| 26 | Buffalo, New Yorkbig city | $1,425 |
| 26 | Tucson, Arizonabig city | $1,425 |
| 28 | Kansas City, Missouribig city | $1,428 |
| 29 | St. Louis, Missouribig city | $1,443 |
| 30 | Columbus, Ohiobig city | $1,450 |
| 31 | Albuquerque, New Mexicobig city | $1,455 |
| 32 | Rochester, New York | $1,476 |
| 33 | Milwaukee, Wisconsinbig city | $1,477 |
| 34 | Columbia, South Carolina | $1,479 |
| 35 | Spokane, Washington | $1,507 |
| 35 | Winston-Salem, North Carolinabig city | $1,507 |
| 37 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | $1,513 |
| 38 | El Paso, Texasbig city | $1,519 |
| 39 | Daytona Beach, Florida | $1,533 |
| 40 | Syracuse, New York | $1,541 |
| 41 | Houston, Texasbig city | $1,542 |
| 42 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniabig city | $1,545 |
| 43 | Greenville, South Carolina | $1,572 |
| 44 | Phoenix, Arizonabig city | $1,574 |
| 45 | Raleigh, North Carolinabig city | $1,577 |
| 46 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | $1,580 |
| 47 | Austin, Texasbig city | $1,586 |
| 48 | Dallas, Texasbig city | $1,591 |
| 49 | Hartford, Connecticut | $1,600 |
| 50 | Jacksonville, Floridabig city | $1,601 |
| 51 | Provo, Utah | $1,602 |
| 52 | Salt Lake City, Utah | $1,603 |
| 53 | Fayetteville, Arkansas | $1,612 |
| 54 | Madison, Wisconsinbig city | $1,616 |
| 55 | Albany, New York | $1,631 |
| 56 | New Orleans, Louisianabig city | $1,637 |
| 57 | Richmond, Virginia | $1,648 |
| 58 | Durham, North Carolinabig city | $1,659 |
| 59 | Minneapolis, Minnesotabig city | $1,682 |
| 60 | Asheville, North Carolina | $1,704 |
| 61 | Allentown, Pennsylvania | $1,710 |
| 62 | Knoxville, Tennessee | $1,712 |
| 62 | Las Vegas, Nevadabig city | $1,712 |
| 64 | Lakeland, Florida | $1,722 |
| 65 | Portland, Oregonbig city | $1,732 |
| 66 | Colorado Springs, Coloradobig city | $1,740 |
| 67 | Charlotte, North Carolinabig city | $1,744 |
| 68 | Savannah, Georgia | $1,757 |
| 69 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniabig city | $1,768 |
| 70 | Baltimore, Marylandbig city | $1,802 |
| 71 | Melbourne, Florida | $1,823 |
| 72 | Vancouver, Washington | $1,828 |
| 73 | Nashville, Tennesseebig city | $1,834 |
| 74 | Poughkeepsie, New York | $1,842 |
| 75 | Bakersfield, Californiabig city | $1,858 |
| 76 | Denver, Coloradobig city | $1,881 |
| 77 | Boise, Idaho | $1,885 |
| 78 | Orlando, Floridabig city | $1,896 |
| 79 | Fresno, Californiabig city | $1,941 |
| 80 | Atlanta, Georgiabig city | $1,944 |
| 81 | Cape Coral, Florida | $1,949 |
| 82 | Tampa, Floridabig city | $1,957 |
| 83 | Reno, Nevadabig city | $1,967 |
| 84 | Bridgeport, Connecticut | $1,990 |
| 85 | Stockton, Californiabig city | $2,010 |
| 86 | New Haven, Connecticut | $2,015 |
| 87 | Sacramento, Californiabig city | $2,056 |
| 88 | Virginia Beach, Virginiabig city | $2,086 |
| 89 | Worcester, Massachusetts | $2,130 |
| 90 | Sarasota, Florida | $2,175 |
| 91 | Providence, Rhode Island | $2,213 |
| 92 | Seattle, Washingtonbig city | $2,234 |
| 93 | Charleston, South Carolina | $2,312 |
| 94 | Chicago, Illinoisbig city | $2,342 |
| 95 | Portland, Maine | $2,419 |
| 96 | Washington, DCbig city | $2,433 |
| 97 | Riverside, Californiabig city | $2,444 |
| 98 | Honolulu, Hawaiibig city | $2,733 |
| 99 | Los Angeles, Californiabig city | $2,778 |
| 100 | Oxnard, California | $2,864 |
| 101 | Miami, Floridabig city | $3,008 |
| 102 | San Diego, Californiabig city | $3,036 |
| 103 | Boston, Massachusettsbig city | $3,338 |
| 104 | San Jose, Californiabig city | $3,563 |
| 105 | New York, New Yorkbig city | $4,154 |
| 106 | San Francisco, Californiabig city | $4,682 |
Sources and method
- Zillow Observed Rent Index · 2026-08
How we got this. Typical rent is Zillow's Observed Rent Index for each city's metro area, refreshed monthly. Cities rank from cheapest to priciest. Zillow doesn't publish a state rent index, so there's no state list here, and we won't fake one by handing a whole state one city's number. It refreshes monthly, when Zillow publishes.
Rankings by The Honest Local from public data, one page per list, refreshed on each source’s own cycle. Places with no reading are left out rather than estimated. Every value on this page carries its source in the page’s structured data.
Photos Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons · More Than Just Parks · Shutterstock.