The 15 U.S. counties with the highest rent burden
Bronx County, NY has the highest rent burden of any county in the nation — renters there spend a median 35.1% of income on rent, according to the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey. Florida claims 6 of the 15 counties on this list, and three more are New York City boroughs — Bronx, Kings, and Queens all appear.
Rent burden is the share of a household's income spent on rent — this figure is from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.
Highest rent burden
15 of 15| # | County or equivalent | State | Rent burden (% of income) | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bronx | NY | 35.1 | $49,036 |
| 2 | Miami-Dade | FL | 30.2 | $68,694 |
| 3 | Broward | FL | 29.0 | $74,534 |
| 4 | Osceola | FL | 28.8 | $68,711 |
| 5 | Monroe | FL | 28.5 | $82,430 |
| 6 | Flagler | FL | 27.8 | $72,923 |
| 7 | Kings | NY | 27.3 | $78,548 |
| 8 | Queens | NY | 27.1 | $84,961 |
| 9 | Palm Beach | FL | 26.9 | $81,115 |
| 10 | Clayton | GA | 26.8 | $58,507 |
| 10 | Petersburg | VA | 26.8 | $50,741 |
| 10 | Hopewell † | VA | 26.8 | $48,681 |
| 13 | Suffolk | MA | 26.7 | $92,859 |
| 13 | Clarke | GA | 26.7 | $52,267 |
| 15 | Lake | CA | 26.4 | $58,738 |
- †Hopewell city's income figure carries a margin of error of about 10.4% of the estimate — treat its 26.8 figure as an approximate range, not a precise point number, in any headline.
Methodology & sources
"Rent burden" is median gross rent as a share of median household income (Census Table B25064 for rent, S1901/B19013 for income), from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Cite the specific data.census.gov detailed-table page (ACSST5Y2023/ACSDT5Y2023), not census.gov's QuickFacts tool — QuickFacts has since rolled forward to the newer 2020–2024 vintage and will show different numbers for the same county. Figures pulled directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's own ACS 2019–2023 5-Year detailed tables (B19013 household income, B25064 median gross rent, B25077 median home value), each carrying its own published margin of error. Faithfully reproduced from the Bureau's release, not independently re-measured.
This list includes counties and, in Virginia, independent cities — a separate legal category from counties there, included here as their county-equivalent.
This ranking is one slice of the full data. The County List with Demographics carries median income, rent, and home value for all 3,221 U.S. counties in one CSV.
- The County List with Demographics page has a free 100-row sample — download it to see the columns first.
- Get the County List with Demographics ($199) for the complete file.
More county affordability rankings
Every figure fact-checked against the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.
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