Housing Cost Burden Across America — Which Cities Are Most Unaffordable — 2026 Study

Data: 2026-Q2 · BLS · HUD · KFF
Key finding

In New York City, median 1BR rent consumes about 52% of the local median wage. 32 of 37 cities are cost-burdened (over 30%) at the median wage.

Full ranking — all 37 cities

1 New York City · NY 52% of median wage
2 San Diego · CA 50% of median wage
3 Miami · FL 49% of median wage
4 San Francisco · CA 48% of median wage
5 Los Angeles · CA 45% of median wage
6 Boston · MA 45% of median wage
7 Orlando · FL 45% of median wage
8 San Jose · CA 43% of median wage
9 Tampa · FL 42% of median wage
10 Atlanta · GA 39% of median wage
11 Dallas · TX 38% of median wage
12 Nashville · TN 38% of median wage
13 Charlotte · NC 37% of median wage
14 Las Vegas · NV 37% of median wage
15 Raleigh · NC 37% of median wage
16 Sacramento · CA 37% of median wage
17 Phoenix · AZ 36% of median wage
18 Seattle · WA 35% of median wage
19 Portland · OR 35% of median wage
20 Denver · CO 35% of median wage
21 Chicago · IL 35% of median wage
22 Washington, DC · DC 34% of median wage
23 Jacksonville · FL 34% of median wage
24 Philadelphia · PA 34% of median wage
25 Austin · TX 33% of median wage
26 Columbus · OH 33% of median wage
27 Salt Lake City · UT 32% of median wage
28 Houston · TX 32% of median wage
29 Indianapolis · IN 31% of median wage
30 Baltimore · MD 31% of median wage
31 San Antonio · TX 30% of median wage
32 Albuquerque · NM 30% of median wage
33 Minneapolis · MN 28% of median wage
34 Kansas City · MO 28% of median wage
35 Pittsburgh · PA 26% of median wage
36 Detroit · MI 26% of median wage
37 St. Louis · MO 24% of median wage

Methodology

Housing cost burden is annual median 1BR rent divided by the local all-occupation median annual wage. Cities above 30% are flagged as cost-burdened at the median wage.

Sources: HUD FY2026 FMR, BLS OEWS May 2025.

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