Finding an affordable rental is becoming increasingly difficult across the United States, but a new 2026 WalletHub study suggests Detroit is the toughest major city in America for renters.
According to the annual report, the Motor City ranked 182nd out of 182 cities, placing it dead last overall.
WalletHub evaluated more than 180 rental markets using 21 different metrics covering affordability, housing availability and quality of life.
The rankings aim to identify where renters receive the best overall value—not simply where rent is cheapest.
While Detroit has historically been viewed as a relatively affordable housing market, the study suggests renters face challenges that extend far beyond monthly rent payments.
Factors including quality of life, housing conditions and broader rental market dynamics all contributed to the city’s last-place finish.
Here’s why Detroit landed at the bottom of WalletHub’s nationwide rankings and how the study reached its conclusions.
Why Detroit ranked as the worst city for renters in America
Detroit received an overall score of 29.95, finishing 182nd out of 182 cities in WalletHub’s rankings.
The city ranked 160th for Rental Market & Affordability and 181st for Quality of Life, making it one of the weakest performers across both major categories.
The study notes that being affordable on paper does not necessarily translate into being one of the best places to rent.
WalletHub weighs everything from rental affordability and vacancy rates to employment opportunities, recreation, safety and living conditions, giving renters a broader picture of what they can expect in each city.
Detroit also appeared among the least affordable rental markets when measuring the share of income spent on rent and ranked among the nation’s worst cities for its rent-to-price ratio, highlighting ongoing affordability pressures despite relatively low home values.
Ultimately, WalletHub concluded that Detroit’s combination of rental market challenges and poor quality-of-life metrics resulted in the lowest overall score in the nation.
How WalletHub ranked America’s best and worst cities for renters
WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities—including the nation’s 150 most populated cities and at least two of the largest cities in every state.
The rankings were built around two major categories:
- Rental Market & Affordability — 60% of the overall score
- Quality of Life — 40% of the overall score
The study then evaluated the following 21 key indicators, each carrying the weight shown below:
Rental Market & Affordability (60%)
- Share of renters — Full weight 3.24 points
- Rental vacancy rate — Full weight 3.24 points
- Sublet laws-friendliness — Full weight 3.24 points
- Average home square footage — Half weight 1.62 points
- Share of newer homes — Full weight 3.24 points
- Rental affordability — Triple weight 9.73 points
- Share of Apartment Community Pillar listings — Full weight 3.24 points
- Historical rental-price changes — Triple weight 9.73 points
- Share of severely cost-burdened renter households — Full weight 3.24 points
- Average annual renters insurance premium — Full weight 3.24 points
- Rent-to-price ratio — Full weight 3.24 points
Quality of Life (40%)
- Jobs — Double weight 5.33 points
- Weather — Full weight 2.67 points
- Traffic congestion — Full weight 2.67 points
- Recreation — Full weight 2.67 points
- School-system quality — Full weight 2.67 points
- Crime rate / safety — Full weight 2.67 points
- Air quality — Full weight 2.67 points
- Property crime rate — Full weight 2.67 points
- Natural-disaster risk — Full weight 2.67 points
- State renter protections including legal protections for tenants — Full weight 2.67 points
Each metric was scored on a 100-point scale, with higher scores representing more favorable conditions for renters.
WalletHub then calculated a weighted average to determine each city’s final ranking.
