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Top 10 U.S. States Where the Rent is Too Dang High

In which states do the highest percent of renters pay at least $3,000/month in rent?
2024 estimates. American Community Survey.
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Quizmaster
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Last updated: October 15, 2025
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First submittedMarch 20, 2020
Times taken64,083
Average score80.0%
Rating4.84
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%
State
19.8
Hawaii
19.8
California
14.9
Massachusetts
14.0
New York
11.3
New Jersey
%
State
10.2
Washington
8.6
Colorado
8.1
Florida
7.4
Virginia
6.8
Connecticut
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44 Comments
Quizmaster
+8
Level ∞
Oct 15, 2025
I changed this from median to % who pay above 30%. This number should more accurately reflect market conditions.

For example, due to rent control, a boomer or well-connected person in Manhattan might be paying $1000/month to rent an apartment that would cost over $5000/month on the open market.

New York wasn't even in the top 10 by median rent anymore!

Jacktheguy
+23
Level 93
Mar 20, 2020
Whoa, when did Jimmy McMillan become the Quizmaster?
joeythelemur
+21
Level 81
Mar 23, 2020
For anyone not in the know....
Jacktheguy
+18
Level 93
Apr 18, 2020
Also, you missed the perfect opportunity to put McMillan as the thumbnail.
caribdevist
+17
Level 60
Mar 23, 2020
I'm probably the one idiot who didn't say New York.
KatyM
+6
Level 69
May 17, 2020
I put that first expecting it to be number one. I never did get number one.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 82
Sep 27, 2022
I often forget New York in U.S. state quizzes, as I usually think of 'New York' as a city!! 🤦‍♂️
nonono
+20
Level 91
Apr 2, 2020
Colorado made no sense to me initially. Turns out that more than half the people (2.9 million out of 5.7 million) live in metro Denver which is booming. Add in a few resort towns and it makes perfect sense.
LadyScroop
+4
Level 68
May 14, 2020
Yup, and Boulder (where I lived) is even worse. A lot of people relocated from California and bought up property with cash.
Quizmaster
+12
Level ∞
May 17, 2020
When making a similar quiz about home prices I discovered a pattern. Places with high population growth have higher prices. It's simple really. New construction is very expensive. That's why Colorado will be expensive until people stop moving there.
DanielCO
+9
Level 71
Feb 11, 2021
Yes. please stop moving here. I grew up here, but don't think I'll be able to afford to stay. Pretty rare to find an apt for under 1500 in the metro area.
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 92
Oct 27, 2025
I think you might be able to rent a room in someone's house for $1,500 a month in Southern Maine if you search really hard.
Cooldrive
+8
Level 64
May 17, 2020
Arizona is much higher than Hawaii!! DO NOT MOVE HERE!!

NO ONE!! It's also very crowded. Scorpions crawl into your shoes at night. Rattlesnakes aren't too bad. Not many people die from their bite.

Oh, there's no water here either.

cma61466
+8
Level 69
May 18, 2020
Ive heard that, Texas is just as bad if not worse, have to chase snakes out of your house daily. Do not, I repeat, do not move here if you like living.
SitzPinkler
+6
Level 71
Aug 10, 2020
I've heard that, Florida is just as bad if not worse, have to chase crackheads out of your house daily. Do not, I repeat, do not move here if you like living.
Baxtergrad
+5
Level 51
Nov 2, 2020
I've heard that, Missouri is just as bad if not worse, have to chase robbers out of your house daily. Do not, I repeat, do not move here if you like living.
Fianchetto
+4
Level 77
May 8, 2023
I've heard that, Ohio is just as bad if not worse, don't get to chase anything out of your house daily. Do not, I repeat, do not move here if you don't like boring.
TheodoreE45
+4
Level 94
Apr 23, 2024
I've heard that, Nevada is just as bad if not worse, have to chase Elvis impersonators out of your house daily. Do not, I repeat, do not move here if you like living.
LeonOrton
+4
Level 56
May 17, 2020
Went into this telling myself Virginia is definitely on here. Guess what state I missed.
Jacktheguy
+1
Level 93
May 17, 2020
Maryland, right?
kalbahamut
+3
Level 80
May 17, 2020
It's really the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area that is expensive.
Pontiac
+1
Level 60
Oct 30, 2025
Department of Motor Vehicles?
NV1
+1
Level 55
Dec 31, 2020
Virginia, right?
Antimatter
+4
Level 51
May 17, 2020
Interesting! Here in UK if you looked at counties with highest rent, the southeast and West Country would feature mainly I think... maybe the odd exception for certain cities elsewhere 🤔 Anyone want to make that one?
mapjunkie95
+1
Level 39
May 21, 2020
What about alaska?
TheBerryLegend
+1
Level 51
Feb 4, 2021
My state is in the top 5
JobyBabby
+1
Level 70
Feb 23, 2022
nice, this quiz got me to level 66
MD396
+2
Level 58
Sep 19, 2022
the title lmao
JeromesNiece
+3
Level 76
Sep 27, 2022
btw, the best way to fix this is to increase the supply of housing. And the biggest barrier to accomplishing that is overzealous zoning and other regulations that make it illegal or impossible to build dense housing where it is most demanded. NIMBYism is mostly to blame.
jmellor13
+2
Level 68
Sep 27, 2022
I don't know. I live in a densely-populated part of Chicago. New condos are shooting up on every corner, but rents keep climbing. There are just so many people moving here. I don't think zoning has much to do with it.
Jiaozira
+4
Level 72
Oct 15, 2025
One of the things I've noticed in Canada at least is that, while you see new builds popping up across many cities (Calgary, Vancouver, etc.) these builds skew towards higher end properties, properties which are more attractive for developers to build, but less accessible for your average Canadian to afford. Perhaps something similar is happening in other countries.
KanzazKyote
+1
Level 91
Oct 29, 2025
NIMBYism is not mostly to blame for the housing crush in many states. Massachusetts? Sure. But in California and New York the blame falls solely on the government. Building is almost impossible in those states because of absurd state red tape. I mean, just look at the vacant lots and shitty, rundown buildings in Los Angeles that are too expensive to turn a profit for a developer because inane policy restricts it.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Oct 29, 2025
Yeah, you can lower prices easily by building more. Look what's happened in the last couple years in Austin, for example.

The question is why governments prevent new housing. And the answer is actually quite simple: the people demand it!

How could this be, with rents at such crushing levels? It's actually quite simple. In New York and California, a majority of people are either homeowners, on rent control, or Section 8. Building new housing won't lower their rent one bit. New buildings only help the minority of people who are forced to pay market rent.

Classic case of tyranny of the majority.

KanzazKyote
+1
Level 91
Oct 30, 2025
Only a small minority of Californians are on rent control. The issue is definitely with developer fees, environmental impact assessments, shady union dealings with city halls. I don't think anybody in Los Angeles is objecting to converting the parts of DTLA that look like a war zone into housing. If you look at any major metro area, aside from the rich coastal suburbs it's not the NIMBYs but the local governments deliberately dragging their feet on approval.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Oct 30, 2025
The rent control mostly impacts the big cities, you are correct.

But why is the government dragging its feet if its not what the people want? Karen Bass was elected by the people of Los Angeles. They could have easily elected Rick Caruso if they wanted housing. Revealed preference is that most people actually don't want more housing. But they might just not say that openly because it comes off as selfish.

grantdon
+2
Level 74
Oct 30, 2025
easiest way to fix it is to move the jobs to less populated or declining areas where there is a ready supply of housing. Most office type jobs can be done anywhere with modern telecommunications...
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Oct 30, 2025
It's a good idea when it comes to sinecures (i.e. jobs that are given as a reward for political connection rather than merit).

But Google can't tell its employees to move to Omaha because they'll just quit.

On the other hand, I'd suggest moving several government departments away from DC. Why not move the IRS to Omaha, for example? They don't have any need to be in a very-high cost of living area.

cuendillar
+1
Level 70
Dec 22, 2025
It's easier to outlocate new expansion than current personell though. There's no real reason not to establish, for example, a competing "East Coast Silicon Valley" in rural West Virginia or the Rust Belt using depleted mines for data centers. It would also offer greater proximity to the population centers and world-class universities there.
jmellor13
+3
Level 68
Sep 27, 2022
He didn't say "dang" and we know he didn't say "dang."
FreeStater
+5
Level 79
Oct 15, 2025
Even JetPunk fears God.
PetJunk001
+1
Level 59
Jun 19, 2024
lmao got Colorado with milliseconds to spare
MasterRocket
+2
Level 82
Oct 15, 2025
What a quiz name haha
RollingStones1
+3
Level 46
Oct 30, 2025
Nice title
Pontiac
+1
Level 60
Oct 30, 2025
Fun Fact: The word 'dang' was removed from the party name in 2009 but restored in 2010
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