Where it is Possible to Find a Rental for Less Than $1,000

As housing affordability continues to be a key issue throughout the United States, a recent report from Zillow is helping people discover areas to rent without breaking the 3-figure mark.

The report analyzed the 100 largest U.S. metros to determine where multifamily rentals were available for less than $1,000. The analysis revealed that there are only 13 U.S. metros, mostly concentrated in the Midwest and South, where more than one-third of the rents are available for less than a grand.

At the top of the list is Wichita, Kansas where 54% of apartment listings have monthly rent less than $1,000, followed closely by McAllen, Texas at 50.6%. The rest of the top 5 affordable places to rent included Little Rock, Arkansas, Toledo, Ohio, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

On the other end of the spectrum, the bottom of the list included Boston, Miami, Washington D.C., North Port, Florida, Charleston, South Carolina and Cape Coral, Florida, all where less than 1.7% of rentals were under the $1,000 per month mark.

Zillow also addresses markets where apartment rental is deemed affordable, meaning rent costs less than 30% of the median household income. Major metro areas like Miami (30.9%), New York (34.1%) Los Angeles (45.1%), Boston (50.7%), and Springfield (57.6%) ranked at the bottom for percent of affordable apartments.

Coming in at the top for affordable apartment access, 97.3% of apartments in Ogden, Utah are deemed affordable at $2,760 or less based on the $110,412 median household income in the area. Raleigh (96.2%), Colorado Springs (94.6%), Des Moines, Iowa (94.3%) and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (93.65) follow closely behind.

As cost of housing continues to increase at a faster rate than incomes, renters in 2025 would need to save 5% of their income for nearly 9 years just to have a 10% downpayment on a typical home. Zillow offers prospective homeowners some tips on how to save in these costly times.

Renting a single room in a house or apartment is a budget friendly way to live in highly desirable locations.

Out of the 100 U.S. metro states included in the study, 86 of them offered room rentals for less than $1,000. Desirable areas, such as California, are also increasing the number of rooms to rent to try and combat their notorious unaffordable to live reputations.

While in top cities like Boston and New York it is still nearly impossible to find a multifamily apartment for less than $1,000, this Zillow report gives renters hope there are metro areas where renting without breaking the bank is still possible.