Yes, the rent is still too damn high – but there are some places in the United States where you might just find a bargain.
A USA TODAY analysis of Apartment List data shows that there are 17 metro areas across the country where the median rent is less than $1,000 per month – well below the national median of $1,402 and a mere fraction of the cost in some of the country’s pricier metros.
The dearth of affordable housing is having an impact. Researchers at Harvard University’s Joint Center on Housing Studies, in an annual report released in June, noted that rental “unaffordability” had hit an all-time high for the third year in a row.
In 2023, there were 22.6 million renters considered “cost-burdened,” which means that they spend more than 30% of their income on housing and utilities. Meanwhile, 12.1 million households were considered “severely burdened,” which means those costs eat up more than 50% of their income.
High housing costs aren’t just being felt in pricey cities and coastal areas. From 2019 to 2023, the share of burdened renters increased in 43 of 50 states, the Harvard report found, and in 89 of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas.
And the scale of the problem means it’s not just poorer households feeling the pinch. In 2023, a whopping 70% of renters earning $30,000 to $44,999 – the “middle of the income scale,” according to the report – were cost burdened.
“Steady employment also increasingly fails to buffer against the increasing costs,” the report said. More than one-third of cost-burdened renter households were headed by a full-time worker.
With all that in mind, there are some places in America that defy the odds and remain deeply affordable. Apartment List data as of July show more than a dozen metro areas across nine states where the median overall rent price for all units (not just for one- or two-bedrooms, in other words) was less than $1,000.
To put that in comparison, the most-expensive metro was Hoboken, New Jersey, with a median of $3,603, followed by San Mateo, California, at $3,518.
While not everyone has the option of simply picking up and moving, these more-affordable areas may be ideal for Americans who work remotely, or those who have transferable skills.
Read next: USA TODAY Apartment Rental Price Report
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rent for less than $1,000? You can find it in these 17 cities.
