The top and bottom 5 places to rent in the US

We’re living in a period of low mortgage rates. Housing prices have recovered roughly 80% of their inflation-adjusted losses from the 2006 crash. Yet, according to a 2016 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, more than a third of households in the United States opted to rent in 2015. Perhaps the American dream of owning a home surrounded by a white picket fence has changed. Or, the benefits of renting, such as its inherent flexibility, simply outweigh the benefits of owning at the moment. Whatever the case, not all places in the US are equally attractive for renters.

To find out the most and least attractive places, I compared 3,000+ U.S. counties on two measures: (1) Rental Affordability and (2) Quality of Life. Together, these two measures consist of 12 sub-metrics, ranging from county-specific median income to life expectancy.

Here’s a snapshot of the counties that made the top and bottom 5. To see a more in-depth view of your current or prospective county and the methodology I used, click here.

Top 5 counties

1. Benton County, Arkansas

BENTONVILLEAR.COM

Median income (national quartile): $57,408 (1st)

Housing affordability (national quartile): 71% (1st)

Quality of life score (1-4, 1 being the best quality of life): 1.15

2. Clay County, Missouri

VISITCLAYMO.COM

Median income (national quartile): $61,598 (1st)

Housing affordability (national quartile): 68% (1st)

Quality of life score (1-4, 1 being the best quality of life): 1.20

3. Hamilton County, Indiana

VISITHAMILTONCOUNTY.COM

Median income (national quartile): $89,861 (1st)

Housing affordability (national quartile): 70% (1st)

Quality of life score (1-4, 1 being the best quality of life): 1.25

4. Warren County, Ohio

WARREN COUNTY PARK DISTRICT FLICKR

Median income (national quartile): $72,973 (1st)

Housing affordability (national quartile): 70% (1st)

Quality of life score (1-4, 1 being the best quality of life): 1.25

5. Johnson County, Kansas

JOCOGOV.ORG

Median income (national quartile): $76,104 (1st)

Housing affordability (national quartile): 68% (1st)

Quality of life score (1-4, 1 being the best quality of life): 1.25

Bottom 5 counties

1. Robeson County, North Carolina

NCPARKS.GOV

Median income (national quartile): $30,414 (4th)

Housing affordability (national quartile): 56% (4th)

Quality of life score (1-4, 1 being the best quality of life): 3.65

2. Bronx County, New York

HTTP://LEVYSUNIQUENY.COM/

Median income (national quartile): $33,687 (4th)

Housing affordability (national quartile): 49% (4th)

Quality of life score (1-4, 1 being the best quality of life): 3.45

3. Wyandotte County, Kansas

COUNTRYCLUBPLAZA.COM

Median income (national quartile): $37,087 (4th)

Housing affordability (national quartile): 57% (4th)

Quality of life score (1-4, 1 being the best quality of life): 3.40

4. Citrus County, Florida

DISCOVERCRYSTALRIVERFL.COM

Median income (national quartile): $36,383 (4th)

Housing affordability (national quartile): 53% (4th)

Quality of life score (1-4, 1 being the best quality of life): 3.35

5. Richmond County, Georgia

AUGUSTAGA.GOV

Median income (national quartile): $36,012 (4th)

Housing affordability (national quartile): 52% (4th)

Quality of life score (1-4, 1 being the best quality of life): 3.10