Statistics hub
U.S. rental property statistics for 2026
The current numbers behind the U.S. rental market: how many households rent, what they pay, how burdened they are, and what a typical home yields. Every figure is computed from the Census Bureau's ACS 2024 5-year American Community Survey release, and each card links its source table so you can verify or cite it directly.
By Adam Langley · Last updated 2026-08-16 · Data: ACS 2024 5-year ACS
Renter households
45.0 million
34.8% of all occupied U.S. homes are rented
Median gross rent
$1,413/mo
Contract rent plus utilities, the tenant's real monthly cost
Cost-burdened renters
51.1%
Spend 30% or more of household income on rent
Rent-to-value ratio
5.1%
A year of median rent against the median home's value
How big is the U.S. rental market in 2026?
45.0 million U.S. households rent their home, which is 34.8% of all occupied households. The median gross rent is $1,413/mo, and a year of that rent equals 5.1%of the median home's value, the gross yield on a typical U.S. property.
Key takeaways
- 45.0 million renter households make up 34.8% of the U.S. market: roughly one in three homes is rented.
- The median gross rent is $1,413/mo, and the median renter spends 30.6% of household income on it.
- 51.1% of renters are cost burdened (30% or more of income on rent), including 25.9% who pay at least half their income.
- At national medians, a home grosses 5.1% of its value in annual rent. Whether a specific deal works is what our free rental cashflow calculator is for.
How many households rent in the U.S.?
45.0 million U.S. households rent their home, 34.8% of the 129.2 million occupied households nationwide. The other 84.2 million own. Renting is not a fringe arrangement or a phase the market is passing through: it is how roughly one in three American households lives, and it has been for decades.
Renter households (45.0 million)
34.8%
The remaining 65.2%, about 84.2 million households, own their home.
The full housing stock is larger than the occupied count. The U.S. holds 143.8 million housing units in total, and 10.1% of them, about 14.5M units, sat vacant at the time of the survey. That vacancy figure counts everything: seasonal homes, units listed for sale, and homes between tenants. Rental-only vacancy runs lower.
Vacant units (about 14.5M)
10.1%
The remaining 89.9% are occupied, split between owners and renters as above.
45.0 million
Renter households in the United States
Out of 129.2 million occupied homes nationwide, 45.0 million are rented rather than owned.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B25003
34.8%
Share of U.S. households that rent
Roughly one in three American households rents its home, which is the demand side of every rental property.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B25003
143.8 million
Total U.S. housing units
The full national housing stock, of which 14.5 million units were vacant at the time of the survey.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B25002
10.1%
Overall housing vacancy rate
Counts every vacant unit, including seasonal and for-sale homes, so rental-only vacancy runs lower.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B25002
What this means for a first-time investor: the demand side of this business is enormous and permanent, so the risk is never "will anyone rent." The risk is buying in the wrong place at the wrong price. The market you pick decides most of the outcome, which is why picking a city with data comes before picking a house.
What do tenants pay, and how stretched are they?
The median U.S. tenant pays $1,413/mo in gross rent, which absorbs 30.6%of the median renter household's income. Gross rent is the contract rent plus estimated utilities, so it is the number tenants actually feel each month. And the median hides how stretched the top half of the distribution is.
Median rentershare of income on rent
30.6%
Cost burdened30%+ of income on rent
51.1%
Severely burdened50%+ of income on rent
25.9%
Bars are scaled to 100%. The first row is the median income share; the other two are the shares of renter households past each threshold, about 21.4 million and 10.9 million households respectively (Census B25070, B25071).
Read that middle bar again: more than half of all renter households already spend at least 30% of their income on housing, the line where federal guidelines call a household cost burdened. A quarter spend at least half. Rent in most markets is not cheap relative to what tenants earn.
$1,413/mo
Median gross rent
Gross rent includes the contract rent plus estimated utilities, so it reflects what tenants actually pay each month.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B25064
30.6%
Median rent as a share of household income
The median renter household puts about this share of its gross income toward rent.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B25071
51.1%
Renter households spending 30% or more of income on rent
About 21.4 million renter households are cost burdened by the standard 30% definition.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B25070
25.9%
Renter households spending 50% or more of income on rent
10.9 million households are severely cost burdened, paying at least half their income in rent.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B25070
What this means for a first-time investor: rent growth has a ceiling, and that ceiling is tenant income. Underwriting a deal that only works if rents keep climbing is a bet against these numbers. It also explains why many of your future tenants keep renting: at today's prices, renting often beats buying month to month, a trade-off you can test yourself in the rent vs. buy calculator.
What is the median rent in every state?
Median gross rent ranges from $883 a month in West Virginia to $2,104 in California, a 2.4x spread across the country. 19 of the 51 states and DC have a median rent of $1,500 or more. The table below lists all 51, with the share of income that rent absorbs and the share of households renting in each.
| State | RentMedian rent | Of incomeRent-to-income | RentersRenter share |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALAlabama | $1,077 | 19.4% | 29.0% |
| AKAlaska | $1,444 | 18.1% | 33.5% |
| AZArizona | $1,672 | 24.6% | 32.2% |
| ARArkansas | $982 | 19.0% | 32.9% |
| CACalifornia | $2,104 | 25.2% | 44.2% |
| COColorado | $1,822 | 22.5% | 34.1% |
| CTConnecticut | $1,550 | 19.4% | 33.3% |
| DEDelaware | $1,530 | 21.0% | 26.2% |
| DCDistrict of Columbia | $1,931 | 21.1% | 59.1% |
| FLFlorida | $1,812 | 28.0% | 32.0% |
| GAGeorgia | $1,506 | 22.6% | 33.7% |
| HIHawaii | $1,942 | 23.1% | 38.4% |
| IDIdaho | $1,384 | 20.5% | 28.3% |
| ILIllinois | $1,322 | 19.1% | 32.4% |
| INIndiana | $1,104 | 18.4% | 29.3% |
| IAIowa | $981 | 15.6% | 28.7% |
| KSKansas | $1,079 | 17.1% | 31.9% |
| KYKentucky | $998 | 18.6% | 31.9% |
| LALouisiana | $1,064 | 20.9% | 31.9% |
| MEMaine | $1,210 | 19.0% | 26.7% |
| MDMaryland | $1,721 | 20.1% | 32.2% |
| MAMassachusetts | $1,848 | 21.2% | 37.6% |
| MIMichigan | $1,168 | 19.4% | 26.5% |
| MNMinnesota | $1,291 | 17.8% | 28.4% |
| MSMississippi | $990 | 20.1% | 29.5% |
| MOMissouri | $1,067 | 17.9% | 31.4% |
| MTMontana | $1,177 | 18.7% | 31.4% |
| NENebraska | $1,102 | 17.3% | 33.3% |
| NVNevada | $1,709 | 25.3% | 39.9% |
| NHNew Hampshire | $1,558 | 18.7% | 27.4% |
| NJNew Jersey | $1,800 | 20.7% | 36.1% |
| NMNew Mexico | $1,117 | 19.8% | 28.9% |
| NYNew York | $1,634 | 22.8% | 45.7% |
| NCNorth Carolina | $1,338 | 21.7% | 33.2% |
| NDNorth Dakota | $980 | 15.1% | 38.8% |
| OHOhio | $1,090 | 18.1% | 32.0% |
| OKOklahoma | $1,044 | 18.9% | 34.3% |
| OROregon | $1,597 | 22.5% | 36.9% |
| PAPennsylvania | $1,252 | 19.4% | 30.7% |
| RIRhode Island | $1,418 | 20.4% | 36.5% |
| SCSouth Carolina | $1,272 | 21.1% | 27.7% |
| SDSouth Dakota | $999 | 15.6% | 31.7% |
| TNTennessee | $1,284 | 21.4% | 33.2% |
| TXTexas | $1,475 | 22.2% | 37.7% |
| UTUtah | $1,593 | 19.8% | 30.4% |
| VTVermont | $1,319 | 19.1% | 26.8% |
| VAVirginia | $1,646 | 21.4% | 32.9% |
| WAWashington | $1,824 | 22.0% | 37.1% |
| WVWest Virginia | $883 | 17.4% | 24.5% |
| WIWisconsin | $1,142 | 17.7% | 32.0% |
| WYWyoming | $998 | 15.9% | 28.3% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year (tables B25064, B19013, B25003), state level. Rent-to-income is annual median rent divided by median household income.
Download the data: us-housing-by-state.csv (all 51 states, free to reuse with attribution).
The affordability picture does not follow the price picture. Florida is the most rent-burdened state at 28.0% of median income, while North Dakota is the least at 15.1%, and several cheap-rent states still rank poorly because incomes there are lower still. For a landlord, rent-to-income is the more useful column: it measures how much headroom tenants in that state actually have.
What this means for a first-time investor: state medians are a screening tool, not an answer. The spread inside a state is often bigger than the spread between states, which is why the next step down from this table is metro-level data like our 50-metro first-rental study.
How fast are rents rising?
The typical U.S. asking rent is $1,962 as of July 2026, up 2.4% from a year earlier. Asking rent (Zillow's ZORI index) tracks what landlords list units for today, which is why it runs higher than the $1,413/mo Census median above: the Census figure covers all sitting tenants, including long-held leases. Both numbers are real; they answer different questions.
| Year | Typical asking rent | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $1,241 | |
| 2017 | $1,294 | +4.2% |
| 2018 | $1,345 | +4% |
| 2019 | $1,402 | +4.2% |
| 2020 | $1,432 | +2.1% |
| 2021 | $1,563 | +9.2% |
| 2022 | $1,762 | +12.8% |
| 2023 | $1,820 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $1,874 | +2.9% |
| 2025 | $1,916 | +2.3% |
| 2026 | $1,962 | +2.4% |
Zillow Observed Rent Index, U.S., measured each July for year-over-year comparability. 2026 is as of July 2026.
Download the data: us-rent-by-year.csv (national asking rent by year, free to reuse with attribution).
The decade splits into three regimes. Rents grew 2 to 4% a year through 2019, spiked a record 12.8% in 2022 as the pandemic reshuffled where people live, and have settled back to roughly 2.4% growth now. Cumulatively, the typical asking rent is up 58% since 2016 and 26% in the last five years.
Underneath the national average, large metros are moving in opposite directions as of July 2026: 4 of the 50 largest metros have asking rents lower than a year ago.
San FranciscoCA
+9.7%
San JoseCA
+7.1%
Virginia BeachVA
+5.9%
ChicagoIL
+5.2%
MilwaukeeWI
+4.8%
The five fastest. At the other end, rents fell in San Antonio (-1.8%), Denver (-0.9%), Austin (-0.8%), Tampa (-0.4%), Houston (0.1%). Zillow ZORI, July 2026.
What this means for a first-time investor: never underwrite a deal on the assumption that rent growth bails you out. In roughly one in five large metros right now, rents are falling. A deal should work at today's rent, which you can test in the rental cashflow calculator, with growth treated as upside rather than a requirement.
What do renters live in, and what does a rental yield?
Single-family homes house 31.6% of U.S. renter households, about 14.2M households, making the ordinary house the single largest rental category in the country. Another 7.9M renter households (17.5%) live in 2-to-4-unit buildings, the segment house hackers buy. Everything else, mostly larger apartment buildings, holds the remaining 22.9M.
Larger buildings and other5+ units, mobile homes
22.9M
Single-family homes1 unit
14.2M
Small multifamily2 to 4 units
7.9M
Renter households by units in structure (Census B25032). Orange marks the single-family segment, the property type most first-time landlords buy.
On the return side, the national ledger is tight. A year of median rent comes to $16,956 against a $332,700 median home value, a 5.1% gross yield before a single expense. Put the monthly numbers side by side and the story is plainer still: median rent covers about 83% of the principal-and-interest payment on the median home at today's average rate.
Median gross rent
$1,413/mo
P&I on the median home
$1,712/mo
Principal and interest computed at 20% down and the current Freddie Mac average rate; taxes and insurance come on top. Rent covers about 83% of the loan payment at national medians.
31.6%
Share of rentals that are single-family homes
14.2 million renter households live in one-unit homes, the property type most first-time landlords buy.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B25032
5.1%
National rent-to-value ratio
A year of median rent ($16,956) divided by the median home value ($332,700): the gross yield on a typical U.S. home.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B25077
What this means for a first-time investor: the average U.S. home is not a cashflowing rental, and no amount of optimism changes that arithmetic. Deals work where local rents are strong relative to local prices, and the entry cash varies just as much: from about $19,000 to $127,000 across large metros in our 50-metro first-rental study. And gross yield is not take-home profit; if you are weighing the workload too, read whether real estate is really passive income.
Cite or republish this data
Cite or republish this data
Real Estate Explained, "U.S. Rental Property Statistics (2026)" (2026). https://realestate-explained.com/stats/rental-property-statistics
The table, charts, and CSV are free to republish, in full or in part, with attribution and a link back to this page.
Frequently asked questions
How many renter households are there in the United States?
45.0 million households rent their home, which is 34.8% of all occupied households, per the U.S. Census Bureau's ACS 2024 5-year American Community Survey estimates. That is the total demand side of the U.S. rental market.
What is the median rent in the U.S.?
The median gross rent is $1,413/mo. Gross rent means the contract rent plus estimated monthly utilities, so it reflects what tenants actually pay rather than the advertised figure. The median renter household spends 30.6% of its income on rent.
What share of renters are cost burdened?
51.1% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, the standard definition of cost burden, and 25.9% spend at least half their income on rent. For landlords, those numbers describe how price-sensitive the tenant pool is.
What share of U.S. rentals are single-family homes?
31.6% of renter households live in one-unit homes, about 14.2M households. That makes the single-family house the largest single rental category and the property type most first-time landlords buy. Another 7.9M renter households (17.5%) live in 2-to-4-unit buildings, the house-hacking segment.
What is the U.S. housing vacancy rate?
The overall housing vacancy rate is 10.1%: about 14.5M of the country's 143.8 million housing units were vacant at the time of the survey. That figure counts every vacant unit, including seasonal and for-sale homes, so rental-only vacancy runs lower.
Which state has the highest median rent?
California has the highest median gross rent at $2,104 a month, and West Virginia the lowest at $883, per the ACS 2024 5-year American Community Survey. 19 of the 51 states and DC now have a median rent of $1,500 or more.
How fast are rents rising in 2026?
The typical U.S. asking rent is $1,962 as of July 2026, up 2.4% year over year (Zillow Observed Rent Index). That is back in the pre-pandemic normal of 2 to 4% annual growth, after the record 12.8% spike of 2022. Cumulatively, asking rents are up about 58% since 2016.
Which large metros have the fastest rent growth right now?
San Francisco, CA leads the 50 largest metros with asking rents up 9.7% year over year, followed by San Jose (+7.1%) and Virginia Beach (+5.9%). At the other end, 4 of the 50 largest metros have falling rents, led by San Antonio, TX at -1.8%.
Where does this data come from and how current is it?
Every figure is computed from the U.S. Census Bureau's ACS 2024 5-year American Community Survey release, pulled table by table through the Census Reporter API. The page was last rebuilt on 2026-08-16, and each stat card links its own source table. Everything here is free to cite with attribution.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 2024 5-year estimates · Tables B25003 (tenure), B25064 (median gross rent), B25071 (rent as share of income), B25070 (rent burden), B25032 (tenure by units in structure), B25002 (occupancy), and B25077 (median home value)
- Census Reporter · The open API that serves the ACS tables above; every figure on this page traces to a specific table
- U.S. Census Bureau, table B25070, gross rent as a percentage of household income · The bracketed distribution behind the 30% and 50% cost-burden figures; households where the ratio is not computed are excluded from the base
The statistics are the backdrop. Your deal is the decision.
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