Ranked lists

Best rental markets, by what you are optimizing for

There is no single best market, only a best market for a stated objective. Each list below ranks the same 4,812 scored U.S. markets on one disclosed criterion, filtered to the markets that criterion actually applies to, and shows the Overall score and grade beside it so a single-factor leader can never masquerade as an all-round one. Every card states that list's entry rule, how many markets clear it, the span and median of the measure it ranks on, and the A-F grade mix across the markets that qualify - each computed by running that list's own filter, so a card can never describe a list the page does not contain.

DatasetCity Market Score, model balanced4,812 of 5,233 tracked U.S. markets rankedgenerated 2026-10-06Latest source releases: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI 2026-08 · Census ACS 5-yr 2024 · Census PEP 2025 · Census BPS 2025 · BLS LAUS 2025 · Redfin 2026-05 · FBI CDE 2025How this is built
Gross yieldHighest rental yield markets614 of 4,812 scored markets qualifyEntry rule: a gross yield of 8.0% or better, and a Confidence score of 70 or better.Gross yield runs 8.0% to 23.2%, median 9.1%.A 132 B 199 C 143 D 83 F 57Leads with Park City, IL · Detroit, MI · Jennings, MOPrice to incomeCheapest rental markets relative to local income494 of 4,812 scored markets qualifyEntry rule: a typical home value no more than 3.0x local median household income, and a Confidence score of 70 or better.Price to income runs 1.0x to 3.0x, median 2.6x.A 76 B 143 C 126 D 97 F 52Leads with East St. Louis, IL · Helena-West Helena, AR · Blackwell, OKDSCRMarkets where a standard rental covers its mortgage191 of 4,812 scored markets qualifyEntry rule: a DSCR of 1.00 or better under the published market-level assumptions, and a Confidence score of 70 or better.DSCR runs 1.00 to 3.11, median 1.14.A 33 B 70 C 41 D 25 F 22Leads with Park City, IL · Detroit, MI · Lauderdale Lakes, FLTypical home valueBest rental markets under $200,000684 of 4,812 scored markets qualifyEntry rule: a typical home value of $200,000 or less, and a Confidence score of 70 or better.Typical home value runs $36,286 to $199,945, median $157,223.A 76 B 170 C 189 D 142 F 107Leads with Wagoner, OK · Chickasha, OK · El Reno, OKGrowth scoreFastest-growing rental markets1,084 of 4,812 scored markets qualifyEntry rule: a Growth score of 64.6 or better, the national upper quartile, and a Confidence score of 70 or better.Growth score runs 64.6 to 94.8, median 72.3.A 460 B 349 C 151 D 81 F 43Leads with Emmett, ID · Lenoir City, TN · Nampa, IDStability scoreMost stable rental markets1,079 of 4,812 scored markets qualifyEntry rule: a Stability score of 60.8 or better, the national upper quartile, and a Confidence score of 70 or better.Stability score runs 60.8 to 93.1, median 68.0.A 345 B 242 C 182 D 160 F 150Leads with Seymour, IN · Bay Minette, AL · Brownsburg, IN

How to use these

Start with the objective you can defend to yourself. If you need the property to pay for itself from month one, start with the markets where rent covers the mortgage. If you are buying for a long hold, start with growth or stability. If your constraint is capital, start with the under-$200,000 band or with price to income. Then open two or three city pages and read the shown math, because every one of these lists hides the trade-off that the other lists rank on.

The full interactive ranking, with every filter and column, is the market explorer. The reasoning behind the model, including what it deliberately leaves out, is on the methodology page. And our own long-form read of what the cash-flow end of this dataset actually says is in The Best Cash-Flow Rental Markets in 2026.