Home·Best of·Affordable rent + mid-size cities (pop 50k+, rent $800-$1300/mo) Cities with median rent between $800-$1,300/mo and population 50,000+ — meaningful scale at meaningful rent.
Most rentals under $1,300/mo are either in very small markets or in declining cities. The cities here have decent scale (50k+ pop) AND active momentum AND moderate rent.
Useful for: relocating renters, college grads, anyone who wants to maintain a reasonable cost-of-living anchor.
1Rockford, ILRockford · pop 147,48681Hot$1,199/momedian rent 2Janesville, WIJanesville-Beloit · pop 66,42877Rising$1,270/momedian rent 3Racine, WIRacine · pop 78,05776Rising$1,211/momedian rent 4Appleton, WIAppleton · pop 75,34476Rising$1,189/momedian rent 6Youngstown, OHYoungstown-Warren-Boardman · pop 59,12375Rising$1,098/momedian rent 8Green Bay, WIGreen Bay · pop 106,31174Rising$1,114/momedian rent 9Anderson, INIndianapolis-Carmel-Anderson · pop 55,85174Rising$1,031/momedian rent 10Elkhart, INElkhart-Goshen · pop 53,69074Rising$1,178/momedian rent 11Lorain, OHCleveland-Elyria · pop 65,75173Rising$1,107/momedian rent 12Kokomo, INKokomo · pop 60,09373Rising$1,001/momedian rent 13Fargo, NDFargo · pop 136,28572Rising$1,092/momedian rent 16Oshkosh, WIOshkosh-Neenah · pop 67,24272Rising$1,154/momedian rent 17Muncie, INMuncie · pop 65,32072Rising$966/momedian rent 20Wichita, KSWichita · pop 400,99171Rising$1,118/momedian rent 21Toledo, OHToledo · pop 265,63871Rising$1,122/momedian rent 23Lansing, MILansing-East Lansing · pop 114,33671Rising$1,218/momedian rent 24Edinburg, TXMcAllen-Edinburg-Mission · pop 108,73371Rising$1,018/momedian rent 25Erie, PAErie · pop 92,94071Rising$1,047/momedian rent 26St. Cloud, MNMinneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington · pop 72,14571Rising$1,252/momedian rent 27Lafayette, INLafayette-West Lafayette · pop 71,75771Rising$1,199/momedian rent 28Dubuque, IADubuque · pop 58,98771Rising$1,100/momedian rent 29Joplin, MOJoplin · pop 53,60571Rising$1,249/momedian rent 30Elyria, OHCleveland-Elyria · pop 53,60471Rising$1,041/momedian rent 31Newark, OHColumbus · pop 51,42471Rising$1,165/momedian rent 32Peoria, ILPeoria · pop 111,69670Rising$1,144/momedian rent 33Dothan, ALDothan · pop 71,65070Rising$1,187/momedian rent 34Canton, OHCanton-Massillon · pop 69,21170Rising$1,011/momedian rent 35Decatur, ILDecatur · pop 68,76370Rising$984/momedian rent 36Manhattan, KSManhattan · pop 54,70070Rising$1,201/momedian rent 37Amarillo, TXAmarillo · pop 203,72969Rising$1,287/momedian rent 38Akron, OHAkron · pop 189,66469Rising$1,135/momedian rent 41Owensboro, KYOwensboro · pop 60,67569Rising$1,134/momedian rent 42Pocatello, IDPocatello · pop 58,23169Rising$1,089/momedian rent 43Kettering, OHDayton-Kettering · pop 57,02869Rising$1,223/momedian rent 44Delano, CABakersfield · pop 53,19869Rising$1,250/momedian rent 45La Crosse, WILa Crosse-Onalaska · pop 51,04969Rising$1,073/momedian rent 46Tulsa, OKTulsa · pop 415,15468Rising$1,250/momedian rent 47Lawton, OKLawton · pop 90,02768Rising$1,075/momedian rent 49Kalamazoo, MIKalamazoo-Portage · pop 73,29068Rising$1,254/momedian rent