In Less Than a Decade, You Will Be Able To Rent a Home in These Pricey ZIP Codes

Although there are variations across the country, in most cases it costs less to rent in a city than it does to pay the cost of the average mortgage. This can lead to thriving rental markets in pricey ZIP codes, as it’s the only way that many people can afford to live in a desirable area.

While it seems like rental prices always go up, on a relative basis, sometimes certain pricey ZIP codes can actually become more affordable. These may be the cities you want to target if you want to live in a nice area without breaking the bank.

To determine which cities with pricey ZIP codes are becoming more affordable, GOBankingRates sourced data from the Zillow Observed Rental Index from 2019 through 2023 to determine average rental costs. Year-over-year changes in dollar amounts and percentages were then calculated and compared with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey regarding national average housing costs for renters. 

For ranking purposes, only ZIP codes with costs higher than the national average were considered. To be deemed a ZIP code that was becoming more affordable, year-over-year costs since 2019 had to be getting cheaper and be within 10% of what was considered an affordably priced ZIP code. Cities were ranked based on their average monthly rental cost in September 2022 and the national average of $1,750, with the most affordable city appearing last.

If pricing trends continue, even the average American will soon be able to afford to rent in these desirable locations.

Also see 25 places where the average person cannot afford rent now.

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,765
• 4-year change (in $): $304 
• Difference from national average (in $): $15

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,765
• 4-year change (in $): $547
• Difference from national average (in $): $15

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,765 
• 4-year change: $374
• Difference from national average: $15

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,764
• 4-year change (in $): $428
• Difference from national average (in $): $14

Pictured: Sacramento

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,764
• 4-year change (in $): $513
• Difference from national average (in $): $14

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,763
• 4-year change (in $): $167
• Difference from national average (in $): $13

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,763
• 4-year change (in $): $424
• Difference from national average (in $): $13

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,763
• 4-year change (in $): $432
• Difference from national average (in $): $13

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,762
• 4-year change (in $): $486
• Difference from national average (in $): $12

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,760
• 4-year change (in $): $523
• Difference from national average (in $): $10

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,760
• 4-year change (in $): $549
• Difference from national average (in $): $10

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,760
• 4-year change (in $): $638
• Difference from national average (in $): $10

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,759
• 4-year change (in $): $428
• Difference from national average (in $): $9

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,758
• 4-year change (in $): $464
• Difference from national average (in $): $8

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,757
• 4-year change (in $): $361
• Difference from national average (in $): $7

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,756
• 4-year change (in $): $540 
• Difference from national average (in $): $6

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,755
• 4-year change (in $): $344
• Difference from national average (in $): $5

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,755 
• 4-year change (in $): $436 
• Difference from national average (in $): $5

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,755
• 4-year change (in $): $488 
• Difference from national average (in $): $5

• Average monthly rental costs: $1,753
• 4-year change (in $): $405
• Difference from national average (in $): $3

Methodology: In order to find the places you will be able to afford in under a decade in pricey ZIP codes, GOBankingRates analyzed historical rental costs from September of the following years; 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, as sourced from the Zillow Observed Rental Index. Using these values, GOBankingRates was able to calculate the year-over-year changes in dollar amounts and percentages, the dollar and percentage difference from the national average housing cost for renters as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. In order to qualify, a ZIP code had to cost more than the national average, signaling a pricey ZIP code. The year-over-year change in price had to be getting progressively cheaper since 2019 and be within 10% of crossing over to being an affordably priced ZIP code. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Oct. 26, 2023.

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