Where Housing Costs Least Against Local Pay

A cheap house in a low-wage market is not affordable. These are the cities where housing costs least relative to what people there actually earn.

AreaProfile ResearchPublished August 29, 2026Updated October 8, 2026Data as of 2024 ACS 5-Year

Housing affordability is a ratio, not a price. Across 1,875 published cities of 25,000 or more, the median renter household spends 31.2% of its income on rent, and in 1,146 of them the typical renter is above the 30% threshold at which a household is formally considered cost-burdened.

Key findings

West Odessa, TX is the most affordable measured, at 16.0% of renter income on rent and 1.9 times owner income to buy.
1,146 of 1,875 cities have a typical renter above the 30% cost-burdened threshold.
Kiryas Joel, NY is the least affordable, at 51.0% of renter income on rent.

Housing costs least against local pay

City	Rent as % of renter income	Price to owner income	Owner household income	Affordability
West Odessa, TX	16.0%	1.9×	$64,792	100
Garden City, KS	19.7%	2.5×	$76,993	96
De Pere, WI	19.9%	2.9×	$95,610	96
Dodge City, KS	20.6%	1.9×	$79,135	94
Bentonville, AR	20.9%	2.7×	$161,023	93
Maryland Heights, MO	21.0%	2.4×	$95,838	93
Fulshear, TX	22.1%	2.9×	$200,833	91
Bella Vista, AR	21.0%	3.2×	$91,974	91
San Luis, AZ	19.9%	3.5×	$64,808	90
Forest Hills, MI	22.4%	3.0×	$164,439	90
Manitowoc, WI	22.6%	2.1×	$75,971	89
Marshalltown, IA	23.0%	1.6×	$79,076	89
Jenks, OK	23.0%	2.7×	$119,648	89
Caledonia, WI	23.1%	2.8×	$108,598	88
Royal Oak, MI	23.1%	2.8×	$118,512	88
Collierville, TN	22.5%	3.1×	$154,593	88
Beavercreek, OH	23.4%	2.2×	$126,773	88
Mount Pleasant, WI	23.6%	2.8×	$105,423	87
Morrisville, NC	21.6%	3.4×	$152,005	87
Oak Creek, WI	23.7%	2.8×	$118,750	87

Rent as a share of renter income and home price as a multiple of owner income — two different populations, so two different incomes, both from the same ACS release. Download this table (CSV)

Rent as a share of renter household income. The 30% mark is the cost-burdened threshold.

And costs most

City	Rent as % of renter income	Price to owner income	Owner household income
Kiryas Joel, NY	51.0%	9.5×	$80,212
Monsey, NY	51.0%	8.1×	$113,368
San Luis Obispo, CA	44.7%	7.2×	$130,467
Boulder, CO	44.1%	6.6×	$157,042
Lakewood, NJ	49.1%	6.3×	$113,139
Westmont, CA	44.6%	6.1×	$106,630
Arcadia, CA	34.8%	9.8×	$147,270
Rowland Heights, CA	36.6%	8.3×	$102,691
Leisure City, FL	47.5%	5.5×	$68,407
Fountain Valley, CA	38.8%	7.5×	$143,119
El Cajon, CA	42.3%	6.2×	$109,616
Diamond Bar, CA	38.8%	7.4×	$122,602

The same measures at the other end of the range. Download this table (CSV)

These describe housing cost against local earnings, not the total cost of living. A city can appear affordable here and still be expensive once transport, insurance, childcare and taxes are counted — none of which these two measures include.

Methodology

Rent as a share of income (ACS table B25071) is computed by the Census Bureau within renter households directly. Home price as a multiple of income compares median owner-occupied home value against median household income among owner-occupied households specifically (ACS tables B25077 and B25119) — renters and owners are, in general, different populations with different incomes, so each ratio uses the income of the households it actually describes rather than an all-household figure that belongs to neither. Cities of 25,000 or more residents. Judged against established thresholds rather than against each other: 30% of income is the long-standing US definition of a cost-burdened household, and a price-to-income ratio near 3 is the historic benchmark for an affordable market. These measure housing against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) (2024)

Area Profiles

Rankings

Every figure here is recalculated from the same measurements the profiles use. See the methodology for how the underlying data is collected and normalized, and the editorial policy for how these reports are written.