The Top 10 Most Affordable U.S. Cities for Renters

Written by

Megan Johnson
Megan Johnson
Megan Johnson is a reporter in Boston. She got her start at the Boston Herald, where commenters would leave sweet messages like “Megan Johnson is just awful.” Now, she's a contributor to publications like People Magazine, Trulia and Architectural Digest.
published Jun 11, 2019
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Sick of spending all your paycheck on rent? Yeah, us too. But if you’re willing to say goodbye to a major city, you can find some lovely towns where rent prices won’t leave you picking change out of the couch cushions. ApartmentGuide.com compiled a list of the most affordable cities for renters in America—and rent comes in at under $690/month for all 100 spots.

For the ranking, ApartmentGuide.com used listings from their one-bedroom rental property inventory for May 2019. The site excluded cities with fewer than five properties listed on the site.

Coming in at number one is Florence, Alabama. Renters in the town of 40,000 pay, on average, $401/month for a one-bedroom apartment. (Can you imagine?!) Located on the Tennessee River, the town features a historic main street area, beautiful waterfront bluffs, and is home to the University of North Alabama. And, hey—it was reportedly named after Florence, Italy, so it’s got to be nice. 

Scoring the number two slot is Enid, Oklahoma. An oil and agricultural hotbed in the northwestern part of the state, renters pay, on average, $443 for a one-bedroom apartment there. Residents in the town of 50,000 are likely to work in one of the many local industries, including food processing, metal fabricating, and machining. It’s also home to one of the world’s largest grain storage facilities. 

In number three is Siloam Springs, Arkansas—one of two The Natural State cities the top ten. The town already racked up some acclaim back in 2012 as one of Smithsonian Magazine’s best small towns in America. Tucked right on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line, renters in Siloam Springs drop an average of $460/month on rent. 

The fourth most affordable city in the U.S. is Charleston—but not the one that first springs to mind. The youthful Illinois town of 22,000 has median age of 25.2, thanks to Eastern Illinois University. Renters pay, on average, $470/month for rent in Charleston, which also happens to be where the first Jimmy John’s franchise opened in 1983. 

Rounding out the top 5 is Lawton, Oklahoma, a city of just under 100,000 residents. It’s near some of the state’s biggest mountains, including Mount Scott, which comes in at more than 2,400 feet tall. For those who love learning indoors, Lawton also has many cultural centers like the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center and the Museum of the Great Plains. Residents pay, on average, $475/month on rent. 

In the sixth and seventh slots are Fort Smith, Arkansas, on the banks of the Arkansas River; and Asheboro, North Carolina, in the heart of the Uwharrie Mountains. Eighth is Newburg, Indiana, a tiny town with about 3,300 residents; and ninth is Decatur, Alabama—the eighth largest city in the state. In each of these four towns, residents pay around $500 monthly for rent. Closing out the top ten is the slightly pricier Waynesville, Missouri. Located in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks, the town of 5,300 residents is the oldest in Pulaski County. Residents pay, on average, $510/month there. 

Check out ApartmentGuide’s full list of 100 affordable cities in America here.

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