The ZIP codes where you can find the cheapest rent in the US

The lowest rents in the U.S. can be found in some of the largest cities in the Midwest, a new study found.

“The Midwest tends to be more affordable because the cost of living is lower in these areas. Cities in the Midwest are just in general less expensive,” said Brian Carberry, the author of the Apartment Guide report, which examined apartment complexes with more than 50 units listed on its site and Rent.com.

In neighborhoods that made the list, the cost of living is fairly low. A dollar can be stretched pretty far in Columbus, Ohio, where the cost of living is 10% more affordable than the U.S. average, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research. Columbus is home to the ZIP code (43227) with the least expensive rent, with one-bedrooms going for $489 a month, according to Apartment Guide.

A new study has identified the most affordable one-bedroom apartments in the U.S. Columbus, Ohio topped the list at $489 monthly rent.
A new study has identified the most affordable one-bedroom apartments in the U.S. Columbus, Ohio topped the list at $489 monthly rent.

“There are a handful of large cities [like Columbus, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, Las Vegas, Tucson, and Houston] where you can still find affordable rent,” Carberry said, noting that neighborhoods in some of the most notoriously expensive areas of the country, like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C., did not make the list of top 100 ZIP codes, which Apartment Guide shared exclusively with Yahoo Finance.

ZIP codes in Columbus and Oklahoma City stood out as surprisingly affordable locations given the cities’ size, said Carberry. In fact urban areas, not rural areas, dominated the top 100 list. ZIP codes in Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, Omaha and Tulsa, each ranked on the top 100 list three times. Oklahoma City, Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Fort Worth each had two ZIP codes on the list.

Although the cheapest one-bedroom rentals are located in ZIP codes clustered in the Midwest, a third of the top 100 ZIP codes with cheapest average rents in the country were in Arkansas, Texas, and Indiana. The Catalina Foothills of Tuscon, Arizona is the city with the most ZIP codes on the least expensive rent list with five: 85712, 85715, 85711, 85741, and 85710. And eight of the top 100 low-rent ZIP codes are on the coast of North Carolina, including Charlotte (28212), Clemmons (27012), Fayetteville (28311), Greensboro (27409), Raleigh (27610), and Winston-Salem (27106).

Low-rent ZIP codes on the East Coast include Newport News, Va. (23602), Baltimore, Md. (21206), Jacksonville, Fla. (32211), Mobile, Ala. (36695), Augusta, Ga. (30909) and Columbus, Ga. (31907).

TOP 100 LEAST EXPENSIVE ZIP CODES

Rank

State

City

Zip Code

Average 1-BR Rent 2019

1

OH

Columbus

43227

$489.00

2

AR

Rogers

72756

$510.00

3

TX

Greenville

75401

$510.00

4

OK

Oklahoma City

73114

$530.00

5

IL

Champaign

61821

$532.50

6

LA

Shreveport

71129

$547.00

7

AR

Conway

72034

$555.00

8

TX

Amarillo

79106

$597.50

9

KS

Derby

67037

$599.00

10

OH

Youngstown

44512

$600.00

11

NM

Albuquerque

87123

$600.40

12

NC

Winston-Salem

27106

$608.00

13

AR

Little Rock

72210

$610.00

14

AR

Marion

72364

$615.00

15

AR

Sherwood

72120

$615.00

16

IA

Davenport

52807

$620.40

17

OK

Tulsa

74107

$620.50

18

NC

Fayetteville

28306

$624.50

19

NM

Albuquerque

87109

$634.80

20

TN

Memphis

38115

$635.20

21

IN

Clarksville

47129

$641.50

22

IL

Urbana

61801

$645.00

23

AR

Benton

72019

$651.00

24

OH

Parma

44129

$653.70

25

AR

Little Rock

72205

$655.00

26

GA

Columbus

31907

$655.50

27

IN

Lawrence

46226

$657.40

28

TN

Memphis

38111

$662.50

29

ND

Grand Forks

58201

$667.00

30

OK

Tulsa

74145

$671.40

31

IA

Des Moines

50315

$672.60

32

NC

Greensboro

27409

$672.80

33

IN

Indianapolis

46254

$677.80

34

LA

Harvey

70058

$678.00

35

AZ

Tucson

85712

$678.50

36

TN

Memphis

38134

$685.50

37

TX

Houston

77034

$689.10

38

IN

Indianapolis

46227

$697.90

39

NC

Clemmons

27012

$698.00

40

AR

North Little Rock

72113

$700.00

41

KS

Wichita

67212

$704.00

42

AR

Bentonville

72712

$705.00

43

MO

Kansas City

64138

$705.20

44

AR

Fayetteville

72704

$707.00

45

IN

Indianapolis

46229

$708.30

46

AZ

Tucson

85715

$712.50

47

OK

Norman

73071

$715.00

48

TX

El Paso

79930

$715.00

49

MN

Moorhead

56560

$719.80

50

LA

Baton Rouge

70816

$720.40

51

AR

Little Rock

72202

$724.00

52

VA

Newport News

23602

$724.10

53

LA

Lafayette

70506

$724.90

54

OH

Bedford Heights

44146

$727.50

55

MO

Kansas City

64131

$729.00

56

TX

Houston

77099

$730.50

57

NE

Omaha

68114

$731.00

58

TX

Waco

76706

$741.70

59

IN

Greenwood

46142

$741.80

60

OK

Tulsa

74136

$742.10

61

NC

Fayetteville

28311

$745.80

62

IN

Greenfield

46140

$749.60

63

OH

Hamilton

45013

$751.50

64

TX

Fort Worth

76133

$752.50

65

MI

Grand Blanc

48439

$756.40

66

FL

Jacksonville

32211

$760.00

67

NE

Omaha

68154

$760.40

68

OK

Oklahoma City

73142

$767.80

69

TX

Webster

77598

$768.90

70

AL

Mobile

36695

$771.60

71

TN

Chattanooga

37404

$775.00

72

AZ

Tucson

85711

$775.60

73

OH

Fairborn

45324

$779.60

74

AZ

Tucson

85741

$782.00

75

TX

Houston

77095

$782.60

76

IN

Elkhart

46514

$782.90

77

WI

Hales Corners

53130

$785.00

78

WI

Kenosha

53144

$787.50

79

NC

Charlotte

28212

$788.40

80

ND

Fargo

58104

$793.00

81

OK

Broken Arrow

74012

$794.60

82

NC

Fayetteville

28304

$794.60

83

IN

Elkhart

46516

$795.00

84

WY

Gillette

82716

$799.00

85

NV

Las Vegas

89169

$801.10

86

MD

Baltimore

21206

$801.70

87

ND

West Fargo

58078

$805.00

88

TX

Baytown

77520

$807.60

89

AZ

Tucson

85710

$808.10

90

KS

Overland Park

66212

$810.40

91

NC

Raleigh

27610

$815.00

92

NE

Omaha

68144

$815.20

93

MS

Biloxi

39532

$815.30

94

NV

Las Vegas

89115

$819.30

95

IA

Ames

50014

$822.80

96

MS

Hattiesburg

39402

$829.20

97

TX

Fort Worth

76112

$830.90

98

GA

Augusta

30909

$832.10

99

MO

Kansas City

64114

$837.70

100

NE

Elkhorn

68022

$841.30

Source: Apartment Guide

Sarah Paynter is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @sarahapaynter

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