M
iami was the least affordable rental market in the US, according to Realtor.com's April 2025 Rental Report. The median rent in Miami was $2,345, meaning a typical household would have to spend around 38% of their monthly income on housing. This is significantly higher than the recommended 30% threshold for affordability.

    Four other major coastal hubs - New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Diego - also had unaffordable rental markets, with rent-to-income ratios ranging from 32% to 37%. Despite showing year-over-year improvement in their rent-to-income ratios, these cities remain challenging for many people to afford.

    The national median rent was $1,699 in April, down $29 from the same time last year. This marks the 21st consecutive month of annual rent declines. However, Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu notes that this spring's monthly increase was more modest than last year's, signaling a cooling rental market.

    The construction of more multifamily units has helped ease upward pressure on prices and driven the national rental vacancy rate to its highest level in nearly seven years at 7.1%. When looking at rent prices by unit size, studios and one-bedroom properties were down 1.9% year over year nationally.

    Affordability improved slightly last month from a year ago, with renters earning the typical household income of $7,263 spending 23.4% of their paycheck to lease a property, compared with 24.7% in April 2024. Oklahoma City emerged as April's most affordable city, with the typical family spending just 16.7% of their monthly paycheck on the median rent of $994.

    San Diego was the most improved market in terms of affordability, after the share of income needed to afford a median rent dropped from 35% last year to 31.1%. Other cities that saw improvements in affordability included Denver, Jacksonville, Miami, Birmingham, and Phoenix, all located in either the South or the West.