Bismarck Leads Nation in Rental Affordability, With Rent at Just 15.3% of Median Income

Residents of Bismarck, North Dakota, spend just 15.3% of their median household income on rent, the lowest rent-to-income ratio of any city in the United States, according to a new analysis from WalletHub. This figure, which combines the city’s 16th-lowest median annual rent with its 80th-highest median income, makes Bismarck the most affordable rental market in the country. WalletHub ranked 180 U.S. cities by comparing median annual gross rent to median household income, a metric that reflects the true burden of housing costs. Bismarck’s neighbor, Fargo, also in North Dakota, ranked fifth in the same study, with renters spending 16.9% of their median income on rent. The most affordable cities for renters have rent costs as low as 15% of median income, compared to nearly 34% in the most expensive cities, according to the report. Rental costs have risen more than 50% over the past decade, according to the Consumer Price Index, while wages have not kept pace, making housing increasingly unaffordable in many parts of the country.