Rent still eats up over a third of income in most US counties — despite signs of relief

The counties with the most expensive housing are located in the West.

PUBLISHED JAN 24, 2026

Representative cover image of a demonstrator calling to suspend rent and mortgage payments (Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by Scott Olson)

In most counties studied by ATTOM, a real estate analytics firm, Americans are paying over a third of their salaries on rent alone. Residents in nearly all Western counties included in the study spend that much on rent, while those in the South and Midwest have it easier. That said, the share of income people spend on rent is steadily declining overall, with the median asking rent across the U.S. falling, according to a separate report from Realtor.

Representative image of a "for rent" sign posted in front of a home (Image source: Getty Images/Photo by Joe Raedle)

The ATTOM report shows that renting a three-bedroom property costs a typical American a third of their wages in 76.9% of the 364 counties analyzed, with 95.4% western counties requiring residents to put up that much for rent. Meanwhile, 90.7% of rented homes in northeast counties demand the same share, as compared to 77.7% in southern counties. "Renters looking to put down roots, young families who need more space, professionals relocating for work, and many others are facing a very tough choice," Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, wrote in the report.

Representative image of a real estate agent handing over the keys (Image source: Getty Images/Photo by Nuttawan Jayawan)

That said, several counties do offer more affordable housing options. As per the report, the most affordable county for renting was Jefferson County, Alabama, where residents typically spend only 20.2% of their salaries on rent. The next most affordable county for renting was Wayne County, Michigan, where residents spent 21.3% of their wages for housing. The list of other affordable counties also include Shelby County, Tennessee (22.1%); Black Hawk County, Iowa, and Peoria County, Illinois (22.4%).

Furthermore, larger counties with populations of over 1 million where the rent was the most affordable include Cuyahoga County, Ohio (24.2%), Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (24.9%), and Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (25.1%), as per the report. The Realtor.com December 2025 Rent Report further found that the rent entirely depends on the type of unit. However, all three types of rental inventory, zero, one, and two-bedroom units, saw a decline in rent by 1% or less, according to trends seen in December last year.

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