Annual Income Needed to Rent Comfortably in 50 U.S. Cities

Source: Houston, Texas’ beautiful Discovery Green municipal park, which hosts various events, art shows and concerts throughout the year. Discovery Green is nestled between the convention center, high rise office towers, hotels and high rise residential skyscrapers making this a unique urban green space. (Art Wager via Getty Images)

Rent costs are on many American minds these days, as the average American needs to make $80,949 a year to afford a standard rental property, according to a study by Zillow. In the same study, Zillow outlined how much Americans have to make to afford rent in major cities, including Houston.

Just five years ago, that $80,000 figure sat at $60,000, highlighting a concerning trend when it comes to housing in the U.S. It’s well known salaries have failed to match the rate of inflation for decades, with the gap is widening at an accelerating rate.

RELATED STORY: Here’s How Much You Need to Make to Afford Houston Rent in 2025

Zillow released a report of the 50-largest rental markets, outlining the annual salary needed to rent comfortably in each market, the change in income needed compared to five years ago, their Zillow “Observed Rent Index” (ZORI) and the percentage of income the median renter is spending on rent.

ZORI is “a smooth measure of the typical observed market rate rent across a given region,” which includes taking properties that are not currently available into consideration when calculating the data.

RELATED STORY: 30 Largest Cities in Texas

On this list, here’s 50 of the largest rental markets in the U.S., ranked from most to least income needed to live comfortably in the respective markets. For Houstonians, they may be surprised to see Houston, the fourth-largest U.S. city and fifth-largest rental market, is far more affordable than comparable markets.

Data taken from Zillow’s “Number of Markets Where Renters Need to Earn $100K to Afford Rent Has Doubled Since 2020” press release, published on May 12, 2025.

1. New York City, NY

Income Needed: $144,960

ZORI: $3,624

Rate of Change Since 2020: 24.8%

2. San Jose, CA

Income Needed: $136,532

ZORI: $3,413

Rate of Change Since 2020: 13.0%

3. Boston, MA

Income Needed: $127,007

ZORI: $3,175

Rate of Change Since 2020: 26.8%

4. San Francisco, CA

Income Needed: $124,267

ZORI: $3,107

Rate of Change Since 2020: 9.3%

5. San Diego, CA

Income Needed: $122,810

ZORI: $3,070

Rate of Change Since 2020: 40.8%

6. Los Angeles, CA

Income Needed: $118,958

ZORI: $2,974

Rate of Change Since 2020: 28.3%

7. Miami, FL

Income Needed: $109,962

ZORI: $2,749

Rate of Change Since 2020: 54.4%

8. Riverside, CA

Income Needed: $102,722

ZORI: $2,568

Rate of Change Since 2020: 45.6%

9. Washington D.C.

Income Needed: $97,179

ZORI: $2,429

Rate of Change Since 2020: 24.4%

10. Sacramento, CA

Income Needed: $94,002

ZORI: $2,350

Rate of Change Since 2020: 30.7%

11. Seattle, WA

Income Needed: $90,840

ZORI: $2,271

Rate of Change Since 2020: $90,840

12. Providence, RI

Income Needed: $87,829

ZORI: $2,196

Rate of Change Since 2020: 51.2%

13. Chicago, IL

Income Needed: $87,428

ZORI: $2,186

Rate of Change Since 2020: 31.1%

14. Tampa, FL

Income Needed: $86,301

ZORI: $2,158

Rate of Change Since 2020: 52.0%

15. Orlando, FL

Income Needed: $81,789

ZORI: $2,045

Rate of Change Since 2020: 37.5%

16. Denver, CO

Income Needed: $78,862

ZORI: $1,972

Rate of Change Since 2020: 22.8%

17. Hartford, CT

Income Needed: $77,119

ZORI: $1,928

Rate of Change Since 2020: 45.2%

18. Philadelphia, PA

Income Needed: $77,058

ZORI: $1,926

Rate of Change Since 2020: 29.0%

19. Atlanta, GA

Income Needed: $76,745

ZORI: $1,919

Rate of Change Since 2020: 36.3%

20. Baltimore, MD

Income Needed: $75,158

ZORI: $1,879

Rate of Change Since 2020: 29.6%

21. Nashville, TN

Income Needed: $74,739

ZORI: $1,868

Rate of Change Since 2020: 28.8%

22. Phoenix, AZ

Income Needed: $74,101

ZORI: $1,853

Rate of Change Since 2020: 35.9%

23. Portland, OR

Income Needed: $74,076

ZORI: $1,852

Rate of Change Since 2020: 24.2%

24. Charlotte, NC

Income Needed: $72,091

ZORI: $1,802

Rate of Change Since 2020: 35.8%

25. Las Vegas, NV

Income Needed: $72,060

ZORI: $1,801

Rate of Change Since 2020: 35.6%

26. Virginia Beach, VA

Income Needed: $71,908

ZORI: $1,798

Rate of Change Since 2020: 43.0%

27. Dallas, TX

Income Needed: $71,413

ZORI: $1,785

Rate of Change Since 2020: 28.6%

28. Raleigh, NC

Income Needed: $70,451

ZORI: $1,761

Rate of Change Since 2020: 31.0%

29. Salt Lake City, UT

Income Needed: $69,881

ZORI: $1,747

Rate of Change Since 2020: 34.2%

30. Jacksonville, FL

Income Needed: $69,670

ZORI: $1,742

Rate of Change Since 2020: 36.7%

31. Austin, TX

Income Needed: $68,840

ZORI: $1,721

Rate of Change Since 2020: 17.6%

32. Richmond, VA

Income Needed: $68,307

ZORI: $1,708

Rate of Change Since 2020: 40.2%

33. Houston, TX

Income Needed: $67,731

ZORI: $1,693

Rate of Change Since 2020: 23.4%

34. Minneapolis, MN

Income Needed: $67,714

ZORI: $1,693

Rate of Change Since 2020: 17.6%

35. New Orleans, LA

Income Needed: $66,141

ZORI: $1,654

Rate of Change Since 2020: 28.7%

36. Indianapolis, IN

Income Needed: $64,391

ZORI: $1,610

Rate of Change Since 2020: 41.6%

37. Cincinnati, OH

Income Needed: $63,444

ZORI: $1,586

Rate of Change Since 2020: 39.5%

38. Columbus, OH

Income Needed: $62,493

ZORI: $1,562

Rate of Change Since 2020: 36.9%

39. Kansas City, MO

Income Needed: $61,457

ZORI: $1,536

Rate of Change Since 2020: 38.7%

40. Detroit, MI

Income Needed: $59,873

ZORI: $1,497

Rate of Change Since 2020: 38.5%

41. Pittsburgh, PA

Income Needed: $59,274

ZORI: $1,482

Rate of Change Since 2020: 28.2%

42. Milwaukee, WI

Income Needed: $59,139

ZORI: $1,478

Rate of Change Since 2020: 32.6%

43. Memphis, TN

Income Needed: $58,761

ZORI: $1,469

Rate of Change Since 2020: 37.7%

44. San Antonio, TX

Income Needed: $58,590

ZORI: $1,802

Rate of Change Since 2020: 35.8%

45. Cleveland, OH

Income Needed: $58,497

ZORI: $1,462

Rate of Change Since 2020: 40.9%

46. Birmingham, AL

Income Needed: $57,428

ZORI: $1,436

Rate of Change Since 2020: 32.7%

47. St. Louis, MO

Income Needed: $57,104

ZORI: $1,428

Rate of Change Since 2020: 37.4%

48. Louisville, KY

Income Needed: $56,549

ZORI: $1,414

Rate of Change Since 2020: 35.7%

49. Oklahoma City, OK

Income Needed: $55,634

ZORI: $1,391

Rate of Change Since 2020: 33.4%

50. Buffalo, NY

Income Needed: $55,319

ZORI: $1,383

Rate of Change Since 2020: 38.9%