Markets · Regions ranked
Best U.S. regions for rental property
The nine U.S. Census divisions ranked by the median Overall across every ranked city inside them. Divisions are the federal standard for grouping states, more homogeneous than the four broad regions. Click any column to re-sort. States ranked →
| Rank | Division | Region | Overall score | Grade | Gross yield | Home-value growth | Price-to-income | States | Ranked cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | East South Central | South | 55.2 | B | 6.7% | 3.5% | 4.2× | 4 | 353 |
| #2 | South Atlantic | South | 53.3 | B | 6.4% | 3.4% | 5.0× | 9 | 716 |
| #3 | West South Central | South | 51.6 | B | 6.7% | 2.0% | 3.9× | 4 | 574 |
| #4 | Mountain | West | 48.2 | C | 4.6% | 3.5% | 5.5× | 8 | 346 |
| #5 | West North Central | Midwest | 47.6 | C | 5.9% | 4.0% | 3.8× | 7 | 491 |
| #6 | East North Central | Midwest | 47.5 | C | 7.4% | 5.3% | 3.8× | 5 | 1,013 |
| #7 | New England | Northeast | 41.2 | D | 5.5% | 5.4% | 6.2× | 6 | 126 |
| #8 | Middle Atlantic | Northeast | 39.4 | D | 6.3% | 4.6% | 7.4× | 3 | 551 |
| #9 | Pacific | West | 36.2 | D | 4.1% | 3.6% | 8.2× | 5 | 642 |
Regions are the nine U.S. Census Bureau divisions. A region's Overall score is the median Balanced Overall of every ranked city in it; its rank and A–F grade both derive from that same number, graded on the same thresholds as city grades. How state and region scores are built →
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2020–2024 · Census PEP July 2025 · BLS LAUS county 2025 annual (11-month average). Generated 2026-10-06. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.