Unearth The Voyage
Finding the right city to rent in can feel like solving a puzzle with too many pieces. Rent prices, job opportunities, safety, and quality of life all matter, and no two cities offer the same mix.
WalletHub’s 2026 Best and Worst Places to Rent in America study looked at 182 U.S. cities across 21 different metrics to figure out which markets actually work for renters and which ones fall short. Whether you are thinking about relocating or just curious how your city stacks up, this breakdown of the top 10 best and bottom 10 worst cities gives you a clear, data-backed picture of where renters are winning and where they are struggling in 2026.
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale claims the No. 1 spot in WalletHub’s 2026 ranking, and the secret behind that top position is not bargain-basement rent. The Arizona city earned first place among all 182 cities for overall quality of life, which is a remarkable achievement in a field this large.
WalletHub found Scottsdale especially strong in job availability and driving conditions, with weather and recreational opportunities also ranking near the top of the entire study. Affordability sits more in the middle of the pack, landing at 24th for Rental Market and Affordability.
Even so, WalletHub reports that most renters in Scottsdale spend less than 22% of their annual income on rent. For renters who want a city that delivers on jobs, amenities, outdoor activities, and everyday livability without sacrificing too much on housing costs, Scottsdale came out ahead of every other city in the country this year.
Gilbert, Arizona
Arizona grabs the second spot as well, this time with the suburban city of Gilbert. What makes Gilbert stand out from its Arizona neighbors is how consistently it performs across both major scoring categories rather than excelling in just one.
Gilbert ranks sixth for Rental Market and Affordability and ninth for Quality of Life, giving it one of the most balanced profiles in the entire study. WalletHub found that the average Gilbert resident spends roughly 21% of annual income on rent, which is a genuinely competitive number.
The city also ranked third for low crime rates, making it one of the safer large suburban markets in the country. Average home sizes run around 2,101 square feet, offering renters considerably more space than many comparable markets.
That combination of relative affordability, safety, space, and livability puts Gilbert among the most well-rounded rental choices anywhere in the United States right now.
Chandler, Arizona
Arizona makes it a clean sweep of the top three with Chandler finishing just behind Gilbert. Three Arizona cities occupying the top three positions in a national study of 182 cities is not something that happens by accident.
Chandler places fifth nationally for Quality of Life while holding an 11th-place ranking for Rental Market and Affordability. WalletHub estimates that residents typically spend around 21% of their annual income on rent, nearly identical to Gilbert’s figure.
The city also has a relatively large supply of newer housing stock, with more than 17% of homes built between 2010 and 2024. Average home size comes in at approximately 1,888 square feet.
Chandler’s ability to deliver solid housing conditions without giving up overall livability is exactly what keeps it at the top of a very competitive national ranking. Renters looking for newer construction and a strong local economy will find Chandler worth a serious look.
Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park breaks Arizona’s three-city grip on the top spots and brings a Midwest option into the conversation. The Kansas city nearly matches Chandler and Gilbert in its balance between affordability and overall livability, which is what makes it so compelling.
Overland Park ranks ninth in Rental Market and Affordability and fourth in Quality of Life. That kind of double-digit performance in both categories is genuinely rare in a field of 182 cities, where most top performers tend to dominate one area while lagging in the other.
Some cities in these rankings score brilliantly in affordability but rank poorly for safety or employment. Others offer great lifestyle conditions but price renters out quickly.
Overland Park avoids both traps. For renters who care about more than just securing the lowest possible monthly payment, its strong showing across both major scoring categories makes it one of the most well-rounded rental markets in the entire study.
Columbia, Maryland
Columbia, Maryland, earns its fifth-place position for one standout reason: its rental market is among the strongest in the country. The city ranks second out of all 182 cities in WalletHub’s Rental Market and Affordability category, which is an exceptional result.
Its Quality of Life ranking of 39th is not nearly as dominant, but 39th out of 182 cities is still a respectable position. That combination keeps Columbia firmly inside the top five overall despite not being a powerhouse in the lifestyle category the way Scottsdale or Overland Park are.
Columbia is a planned community located between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., which gives renters access to two major metro areas without paying big-city prices. For renters whose biggest priority is finding favorable housing-market conditions while still landing in a city that performs reasonably well on quality-of-life measures, Columbia offers one of the strongest value propositions in the entire eastern United States.
Peoria, Arizona
Arizona returns to the list one more time with Peoria, giving the state four cities inside the top six nationally. Peoria’s greatest strength is its quality of life, where it ranks second in the entire study, finishing only behind Scottsdale in that category.
Its Rental Market and Affordability ranking comes in at 22nd, meaning rental economics are not quite as sharp as in Gilbert or Columbia. Still, 22nd out of 182 cities is a strong result by any reasonable measure.
WalletHub also found that Peoria had one of the higher rental vacancy rates among the cities analyzed, placing fifth on that specific metric.
Greater vacancy can give renters more options when searching for a unit, which adds a practical advantage beyond the headline numbers. When you combine a near-top quality-of-life score with a solid rental market position and above-average housing availability, Peoria makes a convincing case for renters considering a move to the Phoenix metro area.
Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck is probably the most surprising entry in the top 10, and its numbers are worth paying attention to. The North Dakota capital ranks third overall for Rental Market and Affordability out of all 182 cities in the study, which is a top-tier result in the category that carries the most weight in WalletHub’s scoring formula.
WalletHub also separately ranked Bismarck first for affordable rentals among all cities studied, which gives it a distinction that no other city on this list can claim. Its Quality of Life ranking sits at a more modest 55th, meaning the lifestyle side of the equation is solid without being spectacular.
For renters who place housing costs at the top of their priority list, Bismarck’s combination of the most affordable rentals in the country and a respectable quality-of-life score makes it an option that deserves far more attention than it typically receives in national rental conversations.
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville earns eighth place largely on the strength of its rental market, and the numbers behind that ranking are genuinely impressive for a mid-sized Southern city. The Alabama city ranks fourth nationally for Rental Market and Affordability, putting it ahead of the vast majority of cities in the study on that measure.
Its Quality of Life ranking of 38th is solid as well, keeping Huntsville competitive even when lifestyle factors are weighed alongside housing costs. That combination gives Huntsville a stronger overall score than many far more well-known cities with much larger rental markets.
Huntsville has grown significantly as a technology and defense hub, which has helped fuel job growth and kept the local economy active. Renters who prioritize affordability while still wanting a city that performs reasonably well on lifestyle factors will find Huntsville’s data particularly compelling.
It is the kind of market that consistently surprises people who have not looked closely at Alabama’s rental landscape.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
No city in WalletHub’s entire 2026 study performed better than Sioux Falls in the Rental Market and Affordability category. Ranking first out of 182 cities in the measure that accounts for 60% of the total score is a significant advantage, and it is what keeps Sioux Falls in the top 10 overall.
The tradeoff is quality of life, where Sioux Falls places a considerably lower 108th. That gap between its first-place rental ranking and its three-digit quality-of-life score is one of the sharpest contrasts in the entire study.
The lesson here is straightforward: a great rental market does not automatically translate into a great overall living experience. Because affordability and rental-market conditions carry more weight in WalletHub’s formula, Sioux Falls still earns ninth place overall.
Renters who prioritize housing costs above most other factors will find Sioux Falls hard to beat on pure affordability metrics, even with the lifestyle trade-offs factored in.
Amarillo, Texas
Rounding out the top 10 is Amarillo, a Texas Panhandle city that earns its place through consistent performance rather than a single dominant category. Amarillo places 20th for Rental Market and Affordability and 34th for Quality of Life, giving it one of the more balanced profiles among the top 10 finishers.
Two specific metrics buried inside the broader rankings make Amarillo especially interesting for renters. WalletHub found that Amarillo had the second-highest rental vacancy rate among all cities studied, meaning renters searching for units tend to have more options available.
The city also ranked third-lowest for cost of living across the full 182-city field.
Those two data points together suggest that renters in Amarillo face less competition for available units while also dealing with lower everyday expenses beyond housing. For anyone weighing a move to Texas but concerned about affordability and availability, Amarillo’s combination of favorable vacancy rates and low cost of living makes it a practical choice worth serious consideration.
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport opens the bottom 10 with a ranking that reflects serious challenges across both major scoring categories. The Louisiana city places 123rd for Rental Market and Affordability, which is already a below-average result in a field of 182 cities.
The bigger problem is quality of life, where Shreveport falls all the way to 179th out of 182 cities. That near-bottom quality-of-life ranking pulls its overall score down sharply, producing a total of just 38.08 and a national ranking of 173rd.
There is very little offsetting strength from either category to soften that result.
Renters considering Shreveport should understand that the challenges reflected in these rankings go beyond rent prices alone. Employment conditions, safety metrics, and other quality-of-life factors all play into the score.
The data suggests that finding affordable housing in a city where broader living conditions are also favorable is a difficult combination to achieve in Shreveport’s current rental market.
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington finishes just one spot below Shreveport, and its numbers tell a similar story of weakness across both scoring areas. The West Virginia city ranks 143rd for Rental Market and Affordability, placing it well into the lower half of the national field in that category.
Its Quality of Life ranking of 172nd is even more concerning, landing near the very bottom of the 182-city study. Because neither category provides much of an offset for the other, Huntington slips to 174th overall with a total score of just 38.02.
That score is only fractions of a point behind Shreveport, making the two cities nearly identical in overall performance. Huntington has faced well-documented economic and health challenges over the past decade, and those broader conditions appear to be reflected in WalletHub’s quality-of-life metrics.
Renters evaluating Huntington should weigh the full picture of living conditions alongside any apparent housing cost advantages the market might offer.
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta presents an interesting case study in why looking at a single metric can be misleading. WalletHub found that Augusta had the fourth-highest rental vacancy rate among all 182 cities studied, which on the surface sounds like good news for renters searching for available units.
The broader picture tells a different story. Augusta’s overall Rental Market and Affordability ranking sits at 136th, and its Quality of Life ranking falls to 180th out of 182 cities.
Those broader weaknesses overwhelm the advantage created by high vacancy rates and leave Augusta ranked 175th overall with a score of 38.00.
High vacancy can sometimes signal underlying issues in a local economy rather than simply a renter-friendly market. A city with many available units but poor employment conditions, safety concerns, or weak infrastructure may not be offering the kind of opportunity that vacancy numbers alone suggest.
Augusta’s ranking is a reminder that context matters when reading any single data point in a rental market study.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Few cities in America carry as much cultural weight as New Orleans, which makes its appearance near the bottom of this ranking a notable data point. WalletHub’s methodology focuses specifically on conditions affecting renters, and on those measures, New Orleans struggles significantly.
The city places 154th for Rental Market and Affordability and 162nd for Quality of Life. Neither category performs well enough to compensate for the other, producing an overall score of 36.51 and a national ranking of 176th out of 182 cities.
New Orleans has faced persistent challenges around housing costs, infrastructure, and other quality-of-life factors that show up in data-driven studies like this one. The city’s cultural appeal and tourism economy are real, but they do not translate directly into favorable conditions for everyday renters.
People drawn to New Orleans for its character and community should go in with clear-eyed expectations about what the rental market actually looks like on the ground in 2026.
Newark, New Jersey
Newark’s position near the bottom of this ranking reflects persistent weakness across both of WalletHub’s main scoring categories. The New Jersey city ranks 149th for Rental Market and Affordability and 169th for Quality of Life, leaving it with almost no strong category to lean on in the overall calculation.
WalletHub also specifically lists Newark among the cities with the least affordable rentals in its individual affordability comparison, which adds further context to the 149th-place rental market ranking. Being near a major metro area like New York City does not appear to translate into favorable rental conditions for Newark residents based on these metrics.
Those combined factors place Newark at 177th overall with a score of 36.08. For renters considering Newark as a more affordable alternative to Manhattan or Brooklyn, the data suggests the affordability advantage may be smaller than expected while quality-of-life conditions present their own set of challenges that are worth researching carefully before committing.
Akron, Ohio
Akron stands out among the bottom-ranked cities for a specific reason: it performs nearly equally poorly in both major scoring categories rather than struggling primarily in just one. The Ohio city ranks 170th for Rental Market and Affordability and 167th for Quality of Life.
That near-identical positioning in both categories is relatively unusual among the bottom 10 finishers. Most cities in this range tend to have one weak spot that drags the overall score down while the other category remains more competitive.
Akron does not have that kind of cushion. It also appears close to the bottom of WalletHub’s rent-to-price-ratio comparison, which measures how rental costs relate to overall property values in a market.
The combination gives Akron a total score of only 34.38 and places it fifth from last nationally. Renters evaluating Akron should look carefully at both the housing cost data and the broader quality-of-life indicators before making a relocation decision based on this market.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis has an unusual profile compared with the other cities near the bottom of this ranking. Its Rental Market and Affordability position is 114th, which is below average but nowhere near as extreme as some of the other cities in this section of the list.
The major issue pulling Memphis down is its Quality of Life ranking. WalletHub ranks Memphis last, 182nd out of 182 cities, in that category.
Safety is one factor included in the quality-of-life calculation, and Memphis also appears at the very bottom of WalletHub’s individual safety comparison across all 182 cities studied.
That last-place quality-of-life ranking is severe enough to push Memphis down to 179th overall despite its less extreme rental-market position. Renters who focus only on housing costs when evaluating Memphis may overlook the broader quality-of-life challenges reflected in this data.
The ranking is a clear signal that affordability alone does not define the full renter experience in any given city.
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson presents almost the opposite problem from Memphis in this ranking. Its Quality of Life score of 146th is poor but not among the absolute lowest in the study.
The real damage comes from its rental market performance, which is among the worst of any city analyzed.
Jackson ranks 181st out of 182 cities for Rental Market and Affordability, meaning only a single city in the entire study performed worse in that category. WalletHub also places Jackson among the cities with the least affordable rentals and at the unfavorable end of its rent-to-price-ratio comparison.
That combination of a near-last rental market ranking and a well-below-average quality-of-life score pushes Jackson to 180th overall with a score of 32.79. The data paints a challenging picture for renters in Mississippi’s capital city.
Both housing costs relative to local incomes and broader living conditions appear to create significant headwinds for people renting in Jackson’s current market.
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland finishes second to last in WalletHub’s 2026 study, and the reason is straightforward: both sides of its renter equation score poorly at the same time. The city ranks 174th for Rental Market and Affordability and 178th for Quality of Life.
Unlike cities that can compensate for expensive housing with exceptional amenities, or offset weaker quality-of-life numbers with unusually low costs, Cleveland gets very little help from either category in this particular ranking. There is no standout strength to lean on when the overall score gets calculated.
Cleveland’s score of 32.02 leaves it ahead of only one city in the entire country. Ohio placing two cities in the bottom five of a 182-city national study is a significant finding for renters considering the state’s major urban markets.
People drawn to Cleveland for its culture, sports teams, or proximity to Lake Erie should factor these data points into their housing research before making a final decision.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit finishes last among all 182 cities in WalletHub’s 2026 study, earning the lowest overall score of any rental market analyzed. The Michigan city ranks 160th for Rental Market and Affordability and 181st for Quality of Life, placing it near the bottom of both major categories simultaneously.
WalletHub also lists Detroit among the least favorable cities in its individual rental-affordability comparison and at the very bottom of its rent-to-price-ratio measure. That last-place rent-to-price-ratio result is a particularly telling data point, suggesting that renters in Detroit are paying a disproportionately high share of costs relative to overall property values in the market.
Detroit’s overall score of 29.95 makes it the only city in the entire study to finish below 30 points. That distinction places it in a category by itself at the bottom of the 2026 ranking.
Renters considering Detroit should research current neighborhood conditions carefully, as local experiences can vary considerably within a large city facing these kinds of systemic market challenges.
