Housing Crisis

25 Most Rent-Burdened Cities in America

Cities where residents spend the highest percentage of their median household income on rent, calculated using committed Zillow ZORI rent observations, HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents where ZORI is missing, paired with U.S. Census income statistics.

1 source baseline is past its update cadence — newer official vintage not reflected

2026 edition — based on ACS 2024, Zillow 2026-08, HUD FY2027, and BEA 2024 dated sources. The edition year is not the observation year.

Exact ranking sample: 1,531 cities with uncapped home, rent, and income estimates.

#1 Most Burdened

West Lafayette

Rent-to-Income: 0.6%

Top 25 Average Ratio

52.5%

of income spent on housing

Affordability Threshold

30.0%

Standard healthy limit

Full Rankings

#	City	Rent Burden	Monthly Rent	Annual Income	Pop.
1	West Lafayette, IN	63.9%	$1,858	$34,891	45,159
2	Spring Valley, NY	62.3%	$2,971	$57,196	33,192
3	New York, NY	61.9%	$4,154	$80,483	8,483,844
4	Bell, CA	58.3%	$2,964	$61,020	32,476
5	Miami, FL	57.8%	$3,008	$62,462	459,745
6	Dania Beach, FL	57.5%	$2,526	$52,748	32,180
7	Westmont, CA	56.0%	$2,357	$50,509	34,123
8	Camden, NJ	54.0%	$1,823	$40,546	71,496
9	Hallandale Beach, FL	53.2%	$2,321	$52,340	41,854
10	Kiryas Joel, NY	51.1%	$2,131	$50,032	38,916
11	Hialeah, FL	50.9%	$2,357	$55,594	226,165
12	Fort Pierce, FL	50.5%	$1,980	$47,072	49,082
13	Atlantic City, NJ	50.4%	$1,722	$41,028	38,632
14	New Brunswick, NJ	49.8%	$2,731	$65,810	56,345
15	Florence-Graham, CA	49.6%	$2,691	$65,132	60,690
16	Lauderdale Lakes, FL	49.6%	$2,065	$50,006	36,404
17	Watsonville, CA	49.4%	$3,229	$78,393	51,712
18	Deerfield Beach, FL	48.7%	$2,426	$59,730	88,093
19	Newark, NJ	48.7%	$2,114	$52,060	310,178
20	Ithaca, NY	48.6%	$1,975	$48,784	32,814
21	Miami Gardens, FL	48.5%	$2,571	$63,627	113,177
22	San Luis Obispo, CA	48.4%	$2,973	$73,685	48,491
23	Rosemead, CA	48.2%	$2,955	$73,566	50,013
24	West Little River, FL	47.9%	$2,255	$56,436	33,890
25	Marrero, LA	47.7%	$1,647	$41,402	32,540

Methodology: Rent Burden is calculated by taking the annualized median gross rent and dividing it by the median household income. The HUD recommends spending no more than 30% of income on housing costs. See full methodology →