With rental prices having experienced a 5.1 percent year-over-year increase last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on “2025’s Best & Worst Places to Rent in America.”

To help prospective renters get the most bang for their buck, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities based on 21 key indicators of rental attractiveness and quality of life. The data set ranges from historical rental-price changes to the cost of living to job availability.

The best cities to rent were Overland Park, Kan.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Chandler, Ariz.; Gilbert, Ariz.; Bismarck, N.D.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Huntsville, Ala., Peoria, Ariz., Lewiston, Maine, and Nashua, N.H.

The worst cities to rent property in were determined to be Huntington, W. Va.; San Bernardino, Calif.; Baton Rouge, La.; Jackson, Miss.; Newark, N.J.; New Orleans; Tacoma, Wash., Cleveland; Detroit, and Memphis, Tenn.

Best versus worst takeaways were:

• Bismarck, N.D., has the highest rental affordability, with the lowest median annual gross rent divided by median annual household income at 15.34 percent. This is 2.3 times lower than in Hialeah, Fla., the city with the lowest at 35.22 percent.
• Charleston, W. Va., has the highest rental vacancy rate, which is 10.4 times higher than in South Burlington, Vt., the city with the lowest.
• Newark, N.J., has the highest share of renter-occupied housing units, which is 4.5 times higher than in Port St. Lucie, Fla., the city with the lowest.
• Brownsville, Texas, has the lowest cost-of-living index, which is 2.4 times lower than in Honolulu and Pearl City, Hawaii, the cities with the highest.
• Warwick, R.I., has the fewest violent crimes (per 1,000 residents), which is 51.3 times fewer than in Oakland, Calif., the city with the most.

“In the best cities for renters, rent can cost you as little as around 15 percent of your income. You’ll also have access to robust laws that protect renters, such as limiting deposits to only a month or two of rent,” WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. “Our study also considers quality-of-life factors such as a city’s traffic congestion, job market or recreation options to make sure you can get a good living experience, not just inexpensive housing.

“Overland Park, Kans., is the best place to rent, boasting the highest average home square footage in the country, at 2,809 square feet,” Lupo added. “It also has the eighth-best rental affordability, with the average person only spending around 17 percent of their annual income on rent. In addition, only around 18 percent of households pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing, the eighth-lowest share in the country.”