Best U.S. cities for
rental cash flow in 2026.

We modeled a typical home in all 347 U.S. cities with at least 100,000 residents, using official Census medians and the same assumptions for every city. Here is where the rent goes furthest.

Key finding: with 25% down at a 6.5% rate and a full expense budget, a median-priced home produces positive monthly cash flow in only 1 of the 347 large cities we analyzed. In most markets, cash flow today depends on buying below the median, a larger down payment or rents above the area median.

Top cityDetroitMichigan · 9.33% modeled cap rate

Cities analyzed347population 100,000+

Positive modeled cash flow1 of 347at a median home and median rent

Down payment25%same for every city

Interest rate6.5%30-year fixed, illustrative

Top 50 large cities by modeled cap rate.

Cap rate uses net operating income after vacancy, taxes, insurance, maintenance and management, before the mortgage. Cash flow also subtracts the mortgage and capital reserves.

#	City	Median home value	Median rent	Gross yield	Modeled cap rate	Modeled monthly cash flow	Analyze
1	Detroit, Michigan	$83,900	$1,074	15.36%	9.33%	$201	Model it
2	Cleveland, Ohio	$102,000	$945	11.12%	6.07%	-$15	Model it
3	Dayton, Ohio	$100,600	$918	10.95%	5.97%	-$22	Model it
4	Jackson, Mississippi	$111,700	$1,055	11.33%	5.86%	-$37	Model it
5	South Bend, Indiana	$140,400	$1,033	8.83%	5.21%	-$108	Model it
6	Akron, Ohio	$122,000	$955	9.39%	5.00%	-$118	Model it
7	Toledo, Ohio	$114,500	$901	9.44%	4.95%	-$116	Model it
8	Evansville, Indiana	$143,100	$975	8.18%	4.83%	-$151	Model it
9	Montgomery, Alabama	$161,900	$1,089	8.07%	4.78%	-$177	Model it
10	Birmingham, Alabama	$158,800	$1,107	8.37%	4.76%	-$178	Model it
11	Memphis, Tennessee	$169,000	$1,181	8.39%	4.60%	-$213	Model it
12	Lansing, Michigan	$128,700	$993	9.26%	4.44%	-$184	Model it
13	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$205,800	$1,261	7.35%	4.43%	-$278	Model it
14	Fayetteville, North Carolina	$188,000	$1,250	7.98%	4.32%	-$276	Model it
15	San Tan Valley, Arizona	$410,100	$2,085	6.10%	4.27%	-$588	Model it
16	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$243,100	$1,397	6.90%	4.23%	-$365	Model it
17	Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance), Georgia	$178,400	$1,142	7.68%	4.20%	-$279	Model it
18	Independence, Missouri	$172,900	$1,109	7.70%	4.09%	-$286	Model it
19	Hampton, Virginia	$245,700	$1,427	6.97%	4.01%	-$414	Model it
20	South Fulton, Georgia	$309,800	$1,702	6.59%	4.00%	-$521	Model it
21	Warren, Michigan	$193,400	$1,225	7.60%	3.98%	-$336	Model it
22	Buffalo, New York	$164,200	$1,046	7.64%	3.94%	-$292	Model it
23	Kansas City, Kansas	$167,400	$1,123	8.05%	3.90%	-$305	Model it
24	Surprise, Arizona	$435,100	$2,033	5.61%	3.85%	-$767	Model it
25	Rochester, New York	$139,600	$1,081	9.29%	3.79%	-$275	Model it
26	Buckeye, Arizona	$419,800	$1,963	5.61%	3.77%	-$769	Model it
27	Lehigh Acres, Florida	$292,400	$1,657	6.80%	3.77%	-$551	Model it
28	Palm Bay, Florida	$283,200	$1,601	6.78%	3.75%	-$537	Model it
29	Savannah, Georgia	$248,900	$1,382	6.66%	3.75%	-$471	Model it
30	Topeka, Kansas	$144,200	$979	8.15%	3.73%	-$284	Model it
31	Mobile, Alabama	$193,300	$1,068	6.63%	3.73%	-$369	Model it
32	Allentown, Pennsylvania	$206,600	$1,317	7.65%	3.71%	-$406	Model it
33	Macon-Bibb County, Georgia	$174,500	$1,066	7.33%	3.70%	-$343	Model it
34	Columbus, Georgia	$193,900	$1,106	6.84%	3.61%	-$392	Model it
35	Dearborn, Michigan	$218,800	$1,327	7.28%	3.60%	-$447	Model it
36	Sunrise Manor, Nevada	$320,000	$1,397	5.24%	3.58%	-$632	Model it
37	Fort Wayne, Indiana	$188,900	$999	6.35%	3.56%	-$385	Model it
38	Rockford, Illinois	$129,000	$985	9.16%	3.53%	-$281	Model it
39	Grand Rapids, Michigan	$244,500	$1,266	6.21%	3.53%	-$503	Model it
40	Yuma, Arizona	$230,000	$1,114	5.81%	3.50%	-$474	Model it
41	Springfield, Missouri	$177,700	$964	6.51%	3.50%	-$372	Model it
42	Clarksville, Tennessee	$263,600	$1,307	5.95%	3.49%	-$548	Model it
43	Rio Rancho, New Mexico	$310,200	$1,514	5.86%	3.49%	-$645	Model it
44	Indianapolis city (balance), Indiana	$224,800	$1,156	6.17%	3.48%	-$472	Model it
45	Syracuse, New York	$138,400	$1,039	9.01%	3.48%	-$307	Model it
46	Brandon, Florida	$339,000	$1,784	6.32%	3.47%	-$715	Model it
47	North Charleston, South Carolina	$302,200	$1,430	5.68%	3.45%	-$636	Model it
48	Knoxville, Tennessee	$239,700	$1,191	5.96%	3.42%	-$513	Model it
49	Baltimore, Maryland	$229,600	$1,331	6.96%	3.41%	-$502	Model it
50	Lakeland, Florida	$249,400	$1,395	6.71%	3.41%	-$544	Model it

The hardest large cities for cash flow.

High home values relative to rent make positive cash flow difficult with typical financing. Investors here usually rely on appreciation, larger down payments or below-median purchase prices.

#	City	Median home value	Median rent	Gross yield	Modeled cap rate	Modeled monthly cash flow	Analyze
347	Berkeley, California	$1,413,900	$2,133	1.81%	0.64%	-$6,057	Model it
346	Elizabeth, New Jersey	$449,300	$1,523	4.07%	0.69%	-$1,946	Model it
345	College Station, Texas	$346,700	$1,194	4.13%	0.72%	-$1,495	Model it
344	San Francisco, California	$1,394,500	$2,476	2.13%	0.90%	-$5,688	Model it
343	Paterson, New Jersey	$360,100	$1,548	5.16%	0.93%	-$1,504	Model it
342	Oakland, California	$929,900	$1,979	2.55%	0.96%	-$3,763	Model it
341	Austin, Texas	$555,300	$1,729	3.74%	0.99%	-$2,261	Model it
340	Sunnyvale, California	$1,801,800	$3,039	2.02%	1.04%	-$7,130	Model it
339	Frisco, Texas	$642,100	$2,014	3.76%	1.05%	-$2,581	Model it
338	Bellevue, Washington	$1,340,300	$2,572	2.30%	1.08%	-$5,277	Model it

All states, ranked.

Statewide medians with the same assumptions. Individual cities and neighborhoods vary widely within every state.

#	State	Median home value	Median rent	Gross yield	Modeled cap rate	Modeled monthly cash flow
1	West Virginia	$162,600	$872	6.44%	3.86%	-$291
2	Indiana	$218,200	$1,062	5.84%	3.35%	-$478
3	Mississippi	$169,800	$954	6.74%	3.35%	-$379
4	Alabama	$209,900	$1,007	5.76%	3.23%	-$480
5	Arkansas	$188,000	$947	6.04%	3.18%	-$440
6	South Carolina	$259,000	$1,180	5.47%	3.18%	-$601
7	Georgia	$303,300	$1,393	5.51%	3.02%	-$745
8	Arizona	$394,500	$1,543	4.69%	3.01%	-$957
9	Delaware	$352,000	$1,401	4.78%	3.01%	-$856
10	Kentucky	$205,600	$967	5.64%	2.97%	-$514
11	Michigan	$231,600	$1,129	5.85%	2.97%	-$582
12	Tennessee	$286,700	$1,189	4.98%	2.88%	-$731
13	Nevada	$435,400	$1,597	4.40%	2.87%	-$1,102
14	Florida	$359,000	$1,669	5.58%	2.87%	-$927
15	Virginia	$383,700	$1,579	4.94%	2.84%	-$989
16	New Mexico	$248,100	$1,067	5.16%	2.80%	-$650
17	Pennsylvania	$254,500	$1,209	5.70%	2.80%	-$673
18	Ohio	$214,800	$1,034	5.78%	2.80%	-$569
19	North Carolina	$288,900	$1,228	5.10%	2.75%	-$770
20	Missouri	$230,300	$1,033	5.38%	2.73%	-$620
21	Oklahoma	$199,800	$1,014	6.09%	2.66%	-$555
22	Maryland	$419,900	$1,705	4.87%	2.57%	-$1,176
23	Louisiana	$216,500	$1,064	5.90%	2.57%	-$616
24	Kansas	$217,200	$1,060	5.86%	2.54%	-$623
25	Alaska	$352,900	$1,419	4.83%	2.44%	-$1,026
26	Iowa	$208,000	$972	5.61%	2.42%	-$615
27	Maine	$296,600	$1,139	4.61%	2.29%	-$897
28	Utah	$489,400	$1,496	3.67%	2.22%	-$1,488
29	Wisconsin	$266,500	$1,087	4.89%	2.18%	-$834
30	Colorado	$539,400	$1,761	3.92%	2.17%	-$1,670
31	Texas	$283,800	$1,403	5.93%	2.14%	-$910
32	Idaho	$418,600	$1,238	3.55%	2.10%	-$1,314
33	Oregon	$477,600	$1,525	3.83%	2.08%	-$1,511
34	North Dakota	$249,900	$954	4.58%	2.08%	-$799
35	Illinois	$263,300	$1,274	5.81%	2.07%	-$858
36	Minnesota	$329,300	$1,280	4.66%	2.07%	-$1,057
37	Washington	$564,600	$1,760	3.74%	2.00%	-$1,822
38	Wyoming	$309,700	$992	3.84%	1.85%	-$1,041
39	Nebraska	$238,600	$1,072	5.39%	1.83%	-$820
40	Hawaii	$839,100	$1,971	2.82%	1.83%	-$2,800
41	South Dakota	$257,400	$946	4.41%	1.79%	-$883
42	Vermont	$316,600	$1,234	4.68%	1.78%	-$1,092
43	District of Columbia	$737,100	$1,954	3.18%	1.77%	-$2,502
44	California	$734,700	$2,036	3.33%	1.76%	-$2,506
45	New York	$423,800	$1,621	4.59%	1.70%	-$1,490
46	New Hampshire	$402,500	$1,491	4.45%	1.60%	-$1,445
47	Massachusetts	$562,100	$1,762	3.76%	1.56%	-$2,023
48	Montana	$375,800	$1,081	3.45%	1.54%	-$1,353
49	Connecticut	$366,900	$1,488	4.87%	1.51%	-$1,353
50	Rhode Island	$404,200	$1,342	3.98%	1.33%	-$1,535
51	New Jersey	$454,400	$1,720	4.54%	1.21%	-$1,784

How we built this ranking

For each city with at least 100,000 residents, we took the U.S. Census Bureau's ACS 2024 5-year median owner-occupied home value as the purchase price, median gross rent as the monthly rent and median real estate taxes as the annual property tax. Insurance is the NAIC 2023 statewide average homeowners (HO-3) premium plus 25%, reflecting the Insurance Information Institute's estimate that landlord policies cost about 25% more.

Every city uses the same remaining assumptions: 25% down, a 6.5% 30-year fixed rate, closing costs of 2% of the price, 5% vacancy, 5% maintenance, 8% management and 5% capital reserves. Cities are ranked by modeled cap rate. The formulas are the same as in our rental property calculator and are documented in the methodology.

What this ranking does not tell you

Area medians describe all homes and all renters in a city, not a specific property. Median rent includes apartments, while median home value covers owner-occupied homes, so the pairing is a rough reference. A high yield can reflect weak demand, older housing, high vacancy, population loss or higher crime. Appreciation, local landlord laws and property condition are not included. Use the ranking to decide where to research, then analyze real listings.

Data: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020–2024) and the NAIC 2023 Homeowners Insurance Report. Updated when new data is published. Journalists and bloggers may cite this ranking with a link to this page.

Best U.S. cities forrental cash flow in 2026.