Roughly 46 million American households have opted to rent rather than buy their homes because of convenience, cost or availability. But renting isn’t always a cheaper or better alternative to owning a property.

The right road to take depends on a variety of factors, including an individual’s or family’s financial means and how well the local real-estate market is doing. Like home prices, rental rates can vary significantly by region, state or city. In some cases, renting will prove to be more cost-effective and a better overall value than owning.

To determine where renters can get the most bang for their buck, WalletHub compared more than 180 rental markets based on 21 key measures of rental attractiveness and quality of life. Our data set ranges from the difference between rental rates and mortgage payments to rental affordability, the cost of living and job availability.

Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale, AZ, is the best place to rent, in large part due to the quality of life in the city. Scottsdale ranks as the best city for both the availability of jobs and the driving environment (traffic and infrastructure quality). It also has the fourth-best weather and the seventh-best recreation options.

Scottsdale isn’t the cheapest city to rent in, but it’s also far from the most expensive. It has the 57th-best rental affordability out of 182 cities, with most people only spending under 22% of their annual income on rent. The city also has one of the largest average home square footages in the country, at 2,179 square feet.

Finally, Arizona has state-level laws addressing bedbug infestations in rental properties, which further protects renters in Scottsdale.

Gilbert, AZ

Gilbert, AZ, is the second-best place to rent, boasting the 10th-highest average home square footage in the country, at 2,101 square feet. It also has the 37th-best rental affordability, with the average person only spending around 21% of their annual income on rent. In addition, only around 19% of households pay more than 50% of their income for housing, the 11th-lowest share in the country.

Gilbert, AZ is also a great place for people who have or plan to have kids, as it has a very good school system – 61% of public schools in the city get a rating of at least 7 out of 10 from Greatschools.org. While this may not seem like a high percentage, only 20 cities out of 182 in our study achieve percentages of 50% or higher. Gilbert has the third-lowest crime rate, too.

Chandler, AZ

Chandler, AZ, is the third-best place to rent in 2026, partly because most people only spend around 21% of their annual income on rent, and only around 20% of households spend more than 50% of their income on housing costs. Plus, the maximum security deposit that a landlord can charge is only two months’ rent.

In addition, homes in Chandler have a generous average square footage, at 1,888 square feet. There are plenty of new homes to choose from, too, as more than 17% of homes were built between 2010 and 2024. Lastly, Chandler, like its Arizonian counterpart above, also benefits from laws addressing bedbug infestations in rental properties.