Average House Prices & Rent Costs at Top 100 US Metros

Zillow provides housing and rental market data on the Research page. Using this data, I created the table below that shows the top 100 most populated cities in America along with their typical house value and monthly rent cost. GRM stands for Gross Rent Multiplier. GRM = Property Purchase Price / Annual Rental Income. It gives you an idea of how many years it will take for your rental income to pay for the cost of the property. It’s often used to compare investment properties. For example, if you buy a triplex for $490,000 and your monthly rental income from the 3 units is $3400, then

GRM = $490,000 / ($3400 x 12 months) = 11.3 years.

Note:

  • Houses in Texas are cheap but property taxes are some of the highest in the country. But then again, Texas has no state income tax.
  • Houses in Florida are cheap but the weather is humid and there are often hurricanes.
  • Chicago is cheap but it gets very cold during the winter there.
  • The weather is California is GREAT but houses are expensive.
Size RankRegion Name11/30/2020
Home Value Index
11/1/2020
Rent Index
GRM
1New York, NY$510,076$2,52816.81
2Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$759,102$2,57924.53
3Chicago, IL$261,177$1,66113.10
4Dallas-Fort Worth, TX$269,887$1,57014.33
5Philadelphia, PA$273,752$1,61014.17
6Houston, TX$230,373$1,49212.87
7Washington, DC$482,099$2,03919.70
8Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL$365,372$1,93515.74
9Atlanta, GA$260,613$1,60713.51
10Boston, MA$546,943$2,27020.08
11San Francisco, CA$1,216,247$2,98533.95
12Detroit, MI$195,290$1,32212.31
13Riverside, CA$427,588$2,20616.15
14Phoenix, AZ$328,585$1,55817.58
15Seattle, WA$606,462$1,89126.73
16Minneapolis-St Paul, MN$319,056$1,54617.20
17San Diego, CA$703,181$2,35524.88
18St. Louis, MO$196,236$1,15414.17
19Tampa, FL$259,430$1,58113.67
20Baltimore, MD$319,277$1,66316.00
21Denver, CO$492,525$1,74323.55
22Pittsburgh, PA$175,716$1,18612.35
23Portland, OR$456,983$1,66522.87
24Charlotte, NC$259,533$1,53314.11
25Sacramento, CA$473,185$1,94820.24
26San Antonio, TX$219,618$1,33613.70
27Orlando, FL$279,324$1,59514.59
28Cincinnati, OH$208,939$1,30913.30
29Cleveland, OH$176,987$1,14012.94
30Kansas City, MO$223,135$1,20515.43
31Las Vegas, NV$325,522$1,48318.29
32Columbus, OH$239,551$1,33314.98
33Indianapolis, IN$201,667$1,27313.20
34San Jose, CA$1,339,174$2,95837.73
35Austin, TX$372,388$1,53920.16
36Virginia Beach, VA$262,781$1,39715.68
37Nashville, TN$301,610$1,59715.74
38Providence, RI$355,752$1,60918.43
39Milwaukee, WI$211,195$1,21314.51
40Jacksonville, FL$250,879$1,40014.93
41Memphis, TN$169,436$1,32010.70
42Oklahoma City, OK$168,756$1,10312.75
43Louisville-Jefferson County, KY$195,591$99516.38
44Hartford, CT$272,229$1,39116.31
45Richmond, VA$262,456$1,33016.44
46New Orleans, LA$222,617$1,40913.17
47Buffalo, NY$190,328$1,12314.12
48Raleigh, NC$302,874$1,52616.54
49Birmingham, AL$185,236$1,10413.98
50Salt Lake City, UT$432,450$1,41625.45
51Rochester, NY$170,742$1,16412.22
52Grand Rapids, MI$244,161$1,26616.07
53Tucson, AZ$252,181$1,25916.69
54Urban Honolulu, HI$852,315$2,10733.71
55Tulsa, OK$159,970$1,17811.32
56Fresno, CA$294,949$1,58515.51
57Worcester, MA$337,964$1,47119.15
58Stamford, CT$537,126$2,24619.93
59Albuquerque, NM$233,950$1,24315.68
60Albany, NY$217,450$1,34913.43
61Omaha, NE$213,772$1,22214.58
62New Haven, CT$275,606$1,45615.77
63Bakersfield, CA$253,212$1,37415.36
64Knoxville, TN$210,770$1,36212.90
65Greenville, SC$220,927$1,31114.04
66Ventura, CA$664,216$2,75720.08
67Allentown, PA$233,511$1,44613.46
68El Paso, TX$145,456$1,19210.17
69Baton Rouge, LA$198,195$1,18713.91
70Dayton, OH$151,480$1,05012.02
72Columbia, SC$173,302$1,19812.05
73Greensboro, NC$174,750$1,23811.76
74Akron, OH$166,219$90915.24
75North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL$305,969$2,15911.81
76Little Rock, AR$167,357$92415.09
77Stockton, CA$418,915$2,12216.45
78Charleston, SC$289,926$1,55815.51
79Syracuse, NY$158,599$1,17311.27
80Colorado Springs, CO$360,902$1,56919.17
81Winston-Salem, NC$176,408$1,27711.51
82Wichita, KS$155,850$85015.28
83Springfield, MA$260,722$1,32916.35
84Fort Myers, FL$266,200$1,93011.49
85Boise City, ID$370,881$1,40222.04
86Toledo, OH$135,759$88112.84
87Madison, WI$312,394$1,34919.30
88Lakeland, FL$211,959$1,45612.13
89Ogden, UT$368,942$1,38122.26
90Daytona Beach, FL$231,262$1,46913.12
91Des Moines, IA$217,048$1,16015.59
92Jackson, MS$149,726$1,2709.82
93Youngstown, OH$108,312$74712.08
94Augusta, GA$167,244$1,17911.82
95Scranton, PA$130,549$93111.69
96Harrisburg, PA$203,742$1,15614.69
97Melbourne, FL$246,745$1,54513.31
98Chattanooga, TN$190,511$1,29912.22
99Spokane, WA$316,096$1,34319.61
100Provo, UT$401,223$1,36824.44
104Durham, NC$290,228$1,43116.90
119Port St. Lucie, FL$260,308$1,76112.32
159Fort Collins, CO$444,725$1,56823.64
162Boulder, CO$630,002$2,07825.26
177Greeley, CO$395,174$1,58920.72
229Gainesville, GA$250,664$1,40514.87