Interactive tool

Affordable City Finder

Set your budget — a state, a maximum rent, a maximum home price — and get the cities that fit, ranked by lowest median rent first.

28,702
Cities searched
Census ACS
Housing data

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this finder searches the American Community Survey 5-Year estimates released in December 2024, covering 28,702 cities and towns. Median rent and home-value filters are read live from that data — see our methodology for the full source list.

Set a budget above to find cities that fit. Leave a field blank to ignore it.

Explore more city data

All city tools → Compare cities → Cost-of-living lookup → Most affordable cities → Highest-rent cities → Browse by state →

How does the affordable-city finder work?

How are "affordable" cities ranked?

Results are sorted by median rent, lowest first, then by population, among cities with at least 25,000 residents. Set a maximum rent or home value to narrow the list to what fits your budget.

What data are the filters based on?

Median rent and median home value both come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year estimates (tables B25064 and B25077). The numbers are read live from the same database that powers each city profile.

Does low rent mean a city is a good place to live?

Not on its own. Affordability is one factor; pair it with the income, safety and climate figures on each city profile before drawing conclusions. Low housing costs often track with lower local wages.