Over one-third of America’s households are renters, [1] but the size, quality, and price of their apartments and homes vary widely. While the Policygenius renters index looked at which cities were better suited for renters versus homeowners using metrics.
To ensure we created a list of places with good job prospects, we also looked at average annual income, average unemployment rate, cost of living, and average commute time, so you can find a cheap apartment and a job to pay for it.
Little Rock, Arkansas, tops our list of best cities with low rent. It has a typical monthly rent of $983, the third-lowest on our list and well below the average rent of all cities in the study ($1,629).
With a typical rent price per month of $1,149 and a five-year increase of $207, Tulsa, Oklahoma, is number two on our list of best cities with affordable apartments. Rent as a percentage of income, also known as the income to rent ratio, is below average at 27.7%.
Number three on our list of the best cities with low rent is Omaha, Nebraska. Typical rent per month is $1,135, the five-year rent increase is $213, and rent as a percentage of income is 25.7%, all below average.
With a typical rent of $1,157, Des Moines, Iowa, is four on our list of the best cities to find affordable apartments. The five-year rent increase is below average at $121, as is rent as percentage of income at 24.9%.
Number five on our list of best cities with cheap rent is Oklahoma City. Typical rent is $1,198 and five-year rent increase is $189, both below average. Also below average: annual income at $50,010, cost of living at 89.8 (using the regional price parities metric, where the national average is 100), and rent as percentage of income at 28.7%.