41 of the counties, population 100,000–250,000, with rent burden under 20%
This list covers U.S. counties in the 100,000–250,000 population band that meet the screens below. Rent burden is a county's median gross rent as a share of its median household income. It is not a measure of how cheap rent is in dollar terms. Every county here keeps that share under 20%.
Low rent burden, pop. 100K–250K
Sorted by rent burden, lowest first| County or equivalent | State | Rent burden (% of income) | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limestone | AL | 13.0 | $83,534 |
| Sherburne | MN | 13.4 | $102,965 |
| Butler | PA | 14.1 | $86,775 |
| Carroll | MD | 14.2 | $115,876 |
| Wayne | OH | 14.2 | $71,769 |
| Lancaster | SC | 14.3 | $74,751 |
| Washington | PA | 14.3 | $77,487 |
| Linn | IA | 14.4 | $76,421 |
| Jefferson | MO | 14.5 | $80,522 |
| Outagamie | WI | 14.5 | $82,857 |
| Franklin | MO | 14.6 | $71,973 |
| Marathon | WI | 15.0 | $76,185 |
| Johnston | NC | 15.1 | $79,838 |
| Miami | OH | 15.2 | $74,175 |
| Morgan | AL | 15.4 | $64,858 |
| Wood | OH | 15.6 | $73,124 |
| LaPorte | IN | 15.8 | $70,452 |
| Sussex | NJ | 15.8 | $114,316 |
| Allegan | MI | 15.9 | $80,255 |
| Adams | PA | 16.0 | $81,071 |
| Eaton | MI | 16.0 | $78,025 |
| Monroe | MI | 16.2 | $75,272 |
| Racine | WI | 16.2 | $75,331 |
| Saratoga | NY | 16.2 | $99,653 |
| Hanover | VA | 16.4 | $109,504 |
| Rensselaer | NY | 16.4 | $86,663 |
| Bonneville | ID | 16.5 | $76,646 |
| Daviess | KY | 16.6 | $65,323 |
| Kent | RI | 16.6 | $91,278 |
| Lower Connecticut River Valley | CT | 16.6 | $101,117 |
| Randall | TX | 16.6 | $80,905 |
| Matanuska-Susitna | AK | 16.7 | $90,625 |
| Blount | TN | 16.8 | $74,607 |
| Houston | GA | 17.0 | $80,743 |
| Franklin | PA | 17.1 | $74,946 |
| Lebanon | PA | 17.1 | $76,350 |
| St. Clair | MI | 17.3 | $69,349 |
| Walton | GA | 17.9 | $82,381 |
| Aiken | SC | 18.2 | $67,940 |
| Bartow | GA | 18.2 | $79,431 |
| El Dorado | CA | 18.4 | $106,190 |
Rent burden is median gross rent as a share of median household income — this figure is from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.
Why we don't name a #1
These counties aren't ranked against each other. Rent burden comes from a Census survey estimate, and every county's estimate carries a margin of error. Many of the gaps between counties on this list are smaller than that uncertainty, so we can't say with confidence which one has the very lowest figure. What we can say is that each one clears every screen described in the methodology. Rows with the same figure are listed alphabetically within that group.
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.
Methodology & sources
Counties on this list clear a rent burden under 20%, rent at or below their own state's median, and household income at or above their own state's median. The list also leaves out any county whose rent-burden figure carries enough survey uncertainty that its true figure could reach 20% or higher, even where the published number sits below that line.
County rent and income are the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table B25064 for median gross rent, Table B19013 for median household income), each with its own published margin of error. The state comparisons use the Bureau's 2019–2023 5-year state median gross rent and its 2023 1-year state median household income. Faithfully reproduced from the Bureau's release, not independently re-measured.
Prepared from our data team's 2026-10-02 delivery.
Counties here include the Census Bureau's county equivalents: Matanuska-Susitna is an Alaska borough, and Lower Connecticut River Valley is one of the planning regions that replaced Connecticut's counties in Census Bureau data.
How precise are these figures? Each value is a Census survey estimate with its own margin of error, and for smaller counties those margins can be wide. The table is ordered by the published rent-burden figure, but the margins are often wider than the gaps between neighboring rows, so the order reflects the published figure, not a demonstrated difference. Every county here has already passed a screen that leaves out any county whose figure could reach 20% within its margin of error.