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 $1,129 a month (Zillow, September 2026). Toledo, Ohio is next, at $1,151 a month.
By The Honest Local · 106 cities · every value links to its public source
$1,129Des 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$1,129a month
No. 2Toledo, Ohio$1,151a month
No. 3Wichita, Kansas$1,159a month
No. 4Akron, Ohio$1,176a month
No. 5Little Rock, Arkansas$1,184a 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 | $1,129 |
| 2 | Toledo, Ohiobig city | $1,151 |
| 3 | Wichita, Kansasbig city | $1,159 |
| 4 | Akron, Ohio | $1,176 |
| 5 | Little Rock, Arkansas | $1,184 |
| 6 | Jackson, Mississippi | $1,228 |
| 7 | Dayton, Ohio | $1,241 |
| 8 | Memphis, Tennesseebig city | $1,259 |
| 9 | Tulsa, Oklahomabig city | $1,273 |
| 10 | Oklahoma City, Oklahomabig city | $1,285 |
| 11 | McAllen, Texas | $1,300 |
| 12 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | $1,301 |
| 13 | Birmingham, Alabama | $1,305 |
| 14 | Ogden, Utah | $1,316 |
| 15 | Detroit, Michiganbig city | $1,328 |
| 16 | Louisville, Kentuckybig city | $1,330 |
| 17 | Huntsville, Alabama | $1,335 |
| 18 | Augusta, Georgia | $1,344 |
| 19 | Cleveland, Ohiobig city | $1,359 |
| 20 | Indianapolis, Indianabig city | $1,375 |
| 21 | San Antonio, Texasbig city | $1,381 |
| 22 | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | $1,388 |
| 23 | Omaha, Nebraskabig city | $1,389 |
| 24 | Greensboro, North Carolinabig city | $1,395 |
| 25 | Buffalo, New Yorkbig city | $1,421 |
| 26 | St. Louis, Missouribig city | $1,427 |
| 27 | Tucson, Arizonabig city | $1,428 |
| 28 | Cincinnati, Ohiobig city | $1,432 |
| 29 | Milwaukee, Wisconsinbig city | $1,443 |
| 30 | Kansas City, Missouribig city | $1,446 |
| 31 | Albuquerque, New Mexicobig city | $1,452 |
| 32 | Rochester, New York | $1,454 |
| 33 | Columbus, Ohiobig city | $1,471 |
| 34 | Winston-Salem, North Carolinabig city | $1,478 |
| 35 | Spokane, Washington | $1,483 |
| 36 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | $1,498 |
| 37 | Columbia, South Carolina | $1,500 |
| 38 | El Paso, Texasbig city | $1,508 |
| 39 | Daytona Beach, Florida | $1,518 |
| 40 | Houston, Texasbig city | $1,544 |
| 41 | Hartford, Connecticut | $1,555 |
| 42 | Greenville, South Carolina | $1,564 |
| 43 | Syracuse, New York | $1,566 |
| 44 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniabig city | $1,569 |
| 45 | Austin, Texasbig city | $1,571 |
| 45 | Phoenix, Arizonabig city | $1,571 |
| 45 | Salt Lake City, Utah | $1,571 |
| 48 | Raleigh, North Carolinabig city | $1,572 |
| 49 | Provo, Utah | $1,575 |
| 50 | Fayetteville, Arkansas | $1,581 |
| 51 | Jacksonville, Floridabig city | $1,589 |
| 52 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | $1,602 |
| 53 | Dallas, Texasbig city | $1,604 |
| 54 | Durham, North Carolinabig city | $1,626 |
| 55 | Richmond, Virginia | $1,628 |
| 56 | New Orleans, Louisianabig city | $1,633 |
| 57 | Albany, New York | $1,664 |
| 58 | Allentown, Pennsylvania | $1,686 |
| 59 | Lakeland, Florida | $1,687 |
| 60 | Las Vegas, Nevadabig city | $1,700 |
| 61 | Knoxville, Tennessee | $1,701 |
| 62 | Savannah, Georgia | $1,712 |
| 63 | Colorado Springs, Coloradobig city | $1,717 |
| 64 | Portland, Oregonbig city | $1,719 |
| 65 | Asheville, North Carolina | $1,726 |
| 66 | Charlotte, North Carolinabig city | $1,729 |
| 67 | Minneapolis, Minnesotabig city | $1,747 |
| 68 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniabig city | $1,757 |
| 69 | Baltimore, Marylandbig city | $1,762 |
| 70 | Vancouver, Washington | $1,803 |
| 71 | Nashville, Tennesseebig city | $1,820 |
| 72 | Madison, Wisconsinbig city | $1,837 |
| 73 | Melbourne, Florida | $1,841 |
| 74 | Denver, Coloradobig city | $1,855 |
| 75 | Poughkeepsie, New York | $1,865 |
| 76 | Orlando, Floridabig city | $1,889 |
| 77 | Boise, Idaho | $1,900 |
| 78 | Bakersfield, Californiabig city | $1,901 |
| 79 | Tampa, Floridabig city | $1,930 |
| 80 | Atlanta, Georgiabig city | $1,942 |
| 81 | Fresno, Californiabig city | $1,945 |
| 82 | Cape Coral, Florida | $1,953 |
| 83 | New Haven, Connecticut | $1,972 |
| 84 | Reno, Nevadabig city | $1,997 |
| 85 | Bridgeport, Connecticut | $2,020 |
| 86 | Stockton, Californiabig city | $2,032 |
| 87 | Sacramento, Californiabig city | $2,045 |
| 88 | Virginia Beach, Virginiabig city | $2,098 |
| 89 | Worcester, Massachusetts | $2,122 |
| 90 | Providence, Rhode Island | $2,190 |
| 91 | Sarasota, Florida | $2,210 |
| 92 | Seattle, Washingtonbig city | $2,227 |
| 93 | Charleston, South Carolina | $2,288 |
| 94 | Chicago, Illinoisbig city | $2,311 |
| 95 | Portland, Maine | $2,399 |
| 96 | Washington, DCbig city | $2,407 |
| 97 | Riverside, Californiabig city | $2,427 |
| 98 | Honolulu, Hawaiibig city | $2,715 |
| 99 | Los Angeles, Californiabig city | $2,772 |
| 100 | Oxnard, California | $2,894 |
| 101 | Miami, Floridabig city | $2,965 |
| 102 | San Diego, Californiabig city | $3,004 |
| 103 | Boston, Massachusettsbig city | $3,271 |
| 104 | San Jose, Californiabig city | $3,582 |
| 105 | New York, New Yorkbig city | $4,089 |
| 106 | San Francisco, Californiabig city | $4,784 |
Sources and method
- Zillow Observed Rent Index · 2026-09
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.