Top 10 U.S. States Where the Rent is Too Dang High

In which states do renters pay the highest median monthly rent?
2021 estimates. American Community Survey.
Some of these states have rent control and subsidized housing. The average rent on the open market is often quite a bit higher.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: September 19, 2022
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First submittedMarch 20, 2020
Times taken37,255
Average score70.0%
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$ / month
State
1,774
Hawaii
1,750
California
1,491
Colorado
1,487
Massachusetts
1,484
Washington
1,473
Maryland
1,457
New Jersey
1,409
New York
1,348
Florida
1,331
Virginia
+23
Level ∞
Mar 20, 2020
Lowest is Arkansas at $731/month.

2022 update: Lowest is West Virginia at $767/month.

+15
Level 89
Mar 20, 2020
Whoa, when did Jimmy McMillan become the Quizmaster?
+15
Level 84
Mar 23, 2020
+13
Level 89
Apr 18, 2020
Also, you missed the perfect opportunity to put McMillan as the thumbnail.
+13
Level 62
Mar 23, 2020
I'm probably the one idiot who didn't say New York.
+5
Level 67
May 17, 2020
I put that first expecting it to be number one. I never did get number one.
+1
Level 79
Sep 27, 2022
I often forget New York in U.S. state quizzes, as I usually think of 'New York' as a city!! 🤦‍♂️
+14
Level 88
Apr 2, 2020
Colorado made no sense to me initially. Turns out that more than half the people (2.9 million out of 5.7 million) live in metro Denver which is booming. Add in a few resort towns and it makes perfect sense.
+2
Level 65
May 14, 2020
Yup, and Boulder (where I lived) is even worse. A lot of people relocated from California and bought up property with cash.
+9
Level ∞
May 17, 2020
When making a similar quiz about home prices I discovered a pattern. Places with high population growth have higher prices. It's simple really. New construction is very expensive. That's why Colorado will be expensive until people stop moving there.
+3
Level 71
Feb 11, 2021
Yes. please stop moving here. I grew up here, but don't think I'll be able to afford to stay. Pretty rare to find an apt for under 1500 in the metro area.
+2
Level 63
May 17, 2020
Arizona is much higher than Hawaii!! DO NOT MOVE HERE!!

NO ONE!! It's also very crowded. Scorpions crawl into your shoes at night. Rattlesnakes aren't too bad. Not many people die from their bite.

Oh, there's no water here either.

+5
Level 70
May 18, 2020
Ive heard that, Texas is just as bad if not worse, have to chase snakes out of your house daily. Do not, I repeat, do not move here if you like living.
+3
Level 70
Aug 10, 2020
I've heard that, Florida is just as bad if not worse, have to chase crackheads out of your house daily. Do not, I repeat, do not move here if you like living.
+3
Level 52
Nov 2, 2020
I've heard that, Missouri is just as bad if not worse, have to chase robbers out of your house daily. Do not, I repeat, do not move here if you like living.
+1
Level 72
May 8, 2023
I've heard that, Ohio is just as bad if not worse, don't get to chase anything out of your house daily. Do not, I repeat, do not move here if you don't like boring.
+15
Level 33
May 17, 2020
More left-leaning the state, the more expensive it is. Interesting
+34
Level 52
May 17, 2020
Or rather, this is reflective of states containing major cities and the highly-educated Americans they attract.
+15
Level 82
May 17, 2020
aka the states that people want to live in... thus by the law of supply and demand housing and real estate becomes more valuable.
+5
Level 65
May 18, 2020
Or rather, the states that left-leaning people want to live in. This of course isn't universally true, but most conservatives want nothing to do with urban areas.
+13
Level 82
May 18, 2020
You don't get how population density works, do you?
+3
Level 78
May 18, 2020
Hawaii is not as left as everyone thinks it is. Part of the problem for the disparity in housing costs is that there simply isn't enough, and the most recent attempts at "affordable housing" in Honolulu have been bought up by Chinese and Russian oligarchs. ("Affordable" in Hawaii means a single-family, two bedroom condo that starts well north of $600k.) But in terms of policy, it's a pretty socially conservative place. Hence, Tulsi.
+5
Level 51
May 14, 2021
Tulsi Gabbard is Conservative? Ok...?
+2
Level 27
Sep 28, 2022
Use your brain. States with the biggest cities and alot of cities will have higer rent. Or states that have almost all of there population in cities. Louisiana dosent have as high of rent because besides new orleans and baton rouge there isnt much.
+3
Level 52
May 17, 2020
Went into this telling myself Virginia is definitely on here. Guess what state I missed.
+1
Level 89
May 17, 2020
Maryland, right?
+1
Level 82
May 17, 2020
It's really the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area that is expensive.
+1
Level 51
Dec 31, 2020
Virginia, right?
+3
Level 44
May 17, 2020
Interesting! Here in UK if you looked at counties with highest rent, the southeast and West Country would feature mainly I think... maybe the odd exception for certain cities elsewhere 🤔 Anyone want to make that one?
+1
Level 41
May 21, 2020
What about alaska?
+1
Level 51
Oct 20, 2020
Surprised with no Illinois. Also, why is Florida the state the most people are moving to, but is on this list...
+7
Level 73
Sep 19, 2022
...you just explained why
+1
Level 51
Feb 4, 2021
My state is in the top 5
+1
Level 66
Feb 23, 2022
nice, this quiz got me to level 66
+5
Level 37
May 9, 2022
Shocked me a bit that Oregon wasn't one of them. Interesting.
+2
Level ∞
Sep 19, 2022
Oregon #12 at $1,282.
+1
Level 89
Sep 19, 2022
Alaska is getting cheaper? Time to go back I guess.
+1
Level 76
Sep 19, 2022
Well... I nearly envy how cheap it seems to be over there.
+1
Level 67
Sep 20, 2022
Exactly. In many parts of the world, US$1774/month can only get you a tiny one bedroom apartment.
+1
Level 56
Sep 19, 2022
the title lmao
+1
Level 72
Sep 27, 2022
btw, the best way to fix this is to increase the supply of housing. And the biggest barrier to accomplishing that is overzealous zoning and other regulations that make it illegal or impossible to build dense housing where it is most demanded. NIMBYism is mostly to blame.
+1
Level 67
Sep 27, 2022
I don't know. I live in a densely-populated part of Chicago. New condos are shooting up on every corner, but rents keep climbing. There are just so many people moving here. I don't think zoning has much to do with it.
+1
Level 67
Sep 27, 2022
He didn't say "dang" and we know he didn't say "dang."
+1
Level 28
Oct 1, 2022
nj works but not ny :
+1
Level 44
May 29, 2023
try nyc
+1
Level 58
Feb 7, 2023
wait hawaii isn’t more?
+1
Level 63
May 10, 2023
Those rents seem pretty low.
+1
Level 63
Dec 27, 2023
this is faaaar from true, even if a lot of houses are for rent in places like the central valley the three coastal cities dominate the rental market and would be at least $3000 average
+1
Level 44
Mar 25, 2024
grow up