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, 2026Data as of 2024 ACS 5-Year

Housing affordability is a ratio, not a price. Across 1,694 published cities of 25,000 or more, the median household spends 22% of its income on rent, and in 103 of them the typical renter is above the 30% threshold at which a household is formally considered cost-burdened.

Key findings

O'Fallon, IL is the most affordable measured, at 15.1% of income on rent and 2.8 times income to buy.
103 of 1,694 cities have a typical renter above the 30% cost-burdened threshold.
Monsey, NY is the least affordable, at 47.7% of income on rent.

Housing costs least against local pay

City	Rent as % of income	Price to income	Median income	Affordability
O'Fallon, IL	15.1%	2.8×	$105,982	100
Woodstock, IL	17.6%	3.0×	$82,758	100
New Lenox, IL	12.2%	2.8×	$140,865	100
Crystal Lake, IL	16.2%	2.9×	$108,418	100
St. Peters, MO	17.3%	2.9×	$91,637	100
Sherwood, AR	16.2%	2.5×	$81,328	100
Algonquin, IL	15.4%	2.6×	$134,525	100
Gurnee, IL	16.6%	2.9×	$119,628	100
Evans, GA	15.5%	2.9×	$125,098	100
Copperas Cove, TX	17.6%	2.5×	$71,225	100
Brunswick, OH	15.3%	2.7×	$90,663	100
North Ridgeville, OH	13.8%	2.8×	$96,698	100
Strongsville, OH	15.1%	2.9×	$103,253	100
Perrysburg, OH	12.9%	3.0×	$111,643	100
North Olmsted, OH	16.2%	2.6×	$84,363	100
Avon, OH	15.9%	2.9×	$135,915	100
Bartlett, IL	17.0%	2.8×	$133,240	100
Plum, PA	14.3%	2.3×	$98,705	100
Benton, AR	17.7%	2.9×	$72,876	100
Crown Point, IN	17.5%	2.9×	$101,686	100

Rent as a share of income and home price as a multiple of it, both from the same ACS release.

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

And costs most

City	Rent as % of income	Price to income	Median income
Monsey, NY	47.7%	19.3×	$47,629
Leisure City, FL	49.3%	8.9×	$41,977
West Lafayette, IN	42.1%	10.0×	$34,891
Kiryas Joel, NY	38.5%	15.2×	$50,032
Westmont, CA	34.8%	12.9×	$50,509
Seaside, CA	33.9%	9.2×	$85,311
State College, PA	33.6%	9.6×	$45,424
El Cajon, CA	33.0%	10.1×	$67,511
Bell Gardens, CA	32.6%	9.1×	$62,298
Blacksburg, VA	32.5%	8.9×	$50,182
San Luis Obispo, CA	32.0%	12.7×	$73,685
Miami, FL	33.8%	8.3×	$62,462

The same measures at the other end of the range.

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

Median gross rent annualized as a share of median household income, and median home value as a multiple of median household income, both from the same ACS release so the comparison is like for like. 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 three 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

This report is generated from a stored query against the AreaProfile database. See the methodology for how the underlying data is collected and normalized, and the editorial policy for how these reports are written.