Research

Original data on what U.S. real estate actually costs

Beginner questions deserve real numbers, not ranges and shrugs. Every study here is computed from primary sources (Zillow research data, the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, and the Federal Reserve's FRED), publishes its full methodology and limitations, and is refreshed quarterly.

Cheapest metro entry

$19,145

Pittsburgh, PA, FHA house hack

Renter households

45.0 million

The demand side of every U.S. rental

Typical U.S. asking rent

$1,962

Up 2.4% year over year

30-year fixed rate

6.67%

Freddie Mac weekly average

Data studies

Data studyUpdated 2026-08-16

The cash you actually need to buy your first rental, in all 50 largest U.S. metros

$19,145 to $126,837

Range across the 50 largest metros

Down payment, closing costs, and the lender-required reserves nobody mentions, computed metro by metro from Zillow values, Census tax data, and the current Freddie Mac rate. Includes a searchable explorer, regional medians, and a CSV download.

Read the study

Statistics pages

Continuously maintained reference pages. Each figure carries its own source table, and each page includes a state-by-state breakdown and multi-year trends.

U.S. rental property statistics

Renter households, median rent, cost burden, vacancy, a median-rent table for all 51 states, and a decade of national rent trends.

House hacking statistics

How many two-to-four-unit homes exist, where they are concentrated by state, and how rents have moved against prices over five years.

First-time investor statistics

Prices, down payments, and affordability, with state-level values and property taxes plus 26 years of price and mortgage-rate history.

Using this research

Everything here is free to quote, chart, or republish, in whole or in part, for any purpose including commercial, with attribution and a link back to the page you took it from. Each study carries a ready-made citation and a downloadable CSV.

Methodology is published, not implied. Every page states its sources, its assumptions, and what it cannot tell you. Where a finding is unflattering, it is reported as found: national medians do not cashflow, and rents are falling in a meaningful share of large metros right now.

Refresh cadence. Datasets are rebuilt quarterly from the same primary sources, and the generation date appears on every page. Journalists and researchers who want the underlying data, a specific cut, or a comment for a story can get in touch.

Free calculators built on the same math live in the tools section, and two of them can be embedded on your own site free.