U.S. states ranked by median gross rent
Compare median monthly gross rent, including utilities, across all 50 states with 2020–2024 ACS estimates, margins of error and a downloadable table.
Which states have the highest median rent?
California has the highest point estimate, $2,036, for 2020–2024. Next are Hawaii ($1,971) and Massachusetts ($1,762).
Allowing for margins of error, California’s first place is statistically clear.
California and Hawaii are the only states above $1,900 a month, and their first and second positions are statistically clear. Massachusetts, Colorado and Washington are separated by a few dollars and cannot be ordered among themselves.
Gross rent combines contract rent with the estimated cost of utilities and fuels paid by the renter. The median covers renter-occupied units paying cash rent during 2020–2024, so it describes existing tenancies rather than asking rents for vacant apartments today.
- Reference period
- 2020–2024
- Original source
-
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2024 five-year detailed tables, B25064
Source published 2026-01-29 - Ordering
- 50 states, highest exact point estimate first; no composite score
- Data and methods reviewed
- October 7, 2026 · data snapshot apd-2026-10-07-r5
Complete 50-state ranking table
Filter the list or change its display order. Positions always refer to the full 50-state ordering. The ± column contains the published 90% margin of error. The supported range lists the positions that pairwise 90% significance tests cannot rule out; a single number means the position is statistically clear.
Showing all 50 states.
| Position | State | Dollars | 90% margin of error | Supported range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $2,036 | ±$5 | 1st |
| 2 | Hawaii | $1,971 | ±$23 | 2nd |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $1,762 | ±$9 | 3rd–5th |
| 4 | Colorado | $1,761 | ±$7 | 3rd–5th |
| 5 | Washington | $1,760 | ±$7 | 3rd–5th |
| 6 | New Jersey | $1,720 | ±$7 | 6th |
| 7 | Maryland | $1,705 | ±$8 | 7th |
| 8 | Florida | $1,669 | ±$5 | 8th |
| 9 | New York | $1,621 | ±$7 | 9th |
| 10 | Nevada | $1,597 | ±$11 | 10th |
| 11 | Virginia | $1,579 | ±$8 | 11th |
| 12 | Arizona | $1,543 | ±$7 | 12th |
| 13 | Oregon | $1,525 | ±$10 | 13th |
| 14 | Utah | $1,496 | ±$9 | 14th–16th |
| 15 | New Hampshire | $1,491 | ±$15 | 14th–16th |
| 16 | Connecticut | $1,488 | ±$10 | 14th–16th |
| 17 | Alaska | $1,419 | ±$23 | 17th–19th |
| 18 | Texas | $1,403 | ±$4 | 17th–19th |
| 19 | Delaware | $1,401 | ±$16 | 17th–20th |
| 20 | Georgia | $1,393 | ±$6 | 19th–20th |
| 21 | Rhode Island | $1,342 | ±$19 | 21st |
| 22 | Minnesota | $1,280 | ±$7 | 22nd–23rd |
| 23 | Illinois | $1,274 | ±$5 | 22nd–23rd |
| 24 | Idaho | $1,238 | ±$16 | 24th–26th |
| 25 | Vermont | $1,234 | ±$18 | 24th–26th |
| 26 | North Carolina | $1,228 | ±$5 | 24th–26th |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $1,209 | ±$5 | 27th |
| 28 | Tennessee | $1,189 | ±$7 | 28th–29th |
| 29 | South Carolina | $1,180 | ±$9 | 28th–29th |
| 30 | Maine | $1,139 | ±$13 | 30th–31st |
| 31 | Michigan | $1,129 | ±$4 | 30th–31st |
| 32 | Wisconsin | $1,087 | ±$4 | 32nd–33rd |
| 33 | Montana | $1,081 | ±$14 | 32nd–35th |
| 34 | Nebraska | $1,072 | ±$8 | 33rd–36th |
| 35 | New Mexico | $1,067 | ±$11 | 33rd–38th |
| 36 | Louisiana | $1,064 | ±$8 | 34th–38th |
| 37 | Indiana | $1,062 | ±$5 | 35th–38th |
| 38 | Kansas | $1,060 | ±$7 | 35th–38th |
| 39 | Ohio | $1,034 | ±$5 | 39th–40th |
| 40 | Missouri | $1,033 | ±$6 | 39th–40th |
| 41 | Oklahoma | $1,014 | ±$6 | 41st–42nd |
| 42 | Alabama | $1,007 | ±$8 | 41st–43rd |
| 43 | Wyoming | $992 | ±$17 | 42nd–43rd |
| 44 | Iowa | $972 | ±$6 | 44th–45th |
| 45 | Kentucky | $967 | ±$5 | 44th–45th |
| 46 | Mississippi | $954 | ±$8 | 46th–49th |
| 46 | North Dakota | $954 | ±$11 | 46th–49th |
| 48 | Arkansas | $947 | ±$6 | 46th–49th |
| 49 | South Dakota | $946 | ±$11 | 46th–49th |
| 50 | West Virginia | $872 | ±$8 | 50th |
The downloads preserve exact values, IDs, source counts, uncertainty status, source release and original ordering. The CSV is the full 50-state table, including when the on-page filter hides rows.
National benchmark and District of Columbia
The United States value is $1,413. The District of Columbia value is $1,954. Both use the same source product as the state table. They do not receive a numbered state position. The national estimate is a source value or an approved calculation from national source counts; it is not an average of the state medians or percentages.
What the lower end of this table means
West Virginia has the lowest point estimate, $872. The last three entries are Arkansas ($947), South Dakota ($946), West Virginia ($872) . This ordering is specific to median gross rent and 2020–2024; it is not a verdict on the state’s overall living conditions.
Rent levels and rent burden answer different questions
A high median rent does not by itself show that renters are stretched, because incomes differ too. Florida has a lower median rent than California but a higher share of renters spending at least 30% of income on rent. Read this table alongside the rent-burden ranking before describing a state as unaffordable.
Why survey rents differ from listings
Long-standing tenants often pay less than people signing new leases, and this estimate pools responses from 2020 through 2024. Listing-based rent indexes measure a different set of units over a different period. They are not interchangeable with this survey median, and neither replaces the other.
Definition, calculation and uncertainty
Median monthly gross rent among renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars. Gross rent includes contract rent and estimated utilities. It is not today’s asking rent or the cost of newly listed apartments.
B25064_001E
Margins of error are published by the Census Bureau. Two states are treated as different only when their difference exceeds the square root of the sum of their squared margins of error, a 90% test. The supported range runs from one plus the number of states significantly above to 50 minus the number significantly below. Tests are pairwise and not adjusted for multiple comparisons. Sorting uses full stored precision. Exact equal values share a position; the next position skips the tied places. A missing, suppressed or unavailable estimate would be excluded and identified rather than converted to zero.
Sources and reproducibility
Original source table and documentation · Census guidance on comparing ACS estimates · Population Estimates Program methods .
Editorial ordering release apd-editorial-2026-10-07-r6 uses the unchanged data snapshot apd-2026-10-07-r5. Cite the Census source product, table, 2020–2024, the indicator definition and this page’s snapshot. The retained JSON query makes the inclusion rule, calculation and sort direction explicit. An upstream revision will require a new approved release rather than rewriting this result.