The states with the strongest rental markets have almost nothing in common with the ones investors are chasing. That gap should get your attention.

Let me tell you what flyover country is doing that coastal capital still refuses to acknowledge: winning.

For the third consecutive year, North Dakota ranks as the most renter-friendly state in the nation, according to ConsumerAffairs Research. Median rent sits at $954 — nearly a third below the national median. Residents spend just 23.7% of their income on housing. The state posts the highest vacancy rate in the country at 8.3%.
No bidding wars. No rent-burdened workforce. No political pressure cooker. Just fundamentals.

Colorado Jumped 42 Places. Here’s Why That Matters.

Colorado didn’t get cheaper — median rent is still $1,761. What changed is the legal environment. The state is now one of only five in the country with statewide rent-increase limits, a category that ConsumerAffairs significantly expanded in this year’s ranking methodology. California climbed 33 spots for the same reason.

Love it or hate it, tenant protection infrastructure is becoming a ranking variable. Investors who are ignoring that shift are pricing their deals on a framework that’s quietly becoming obsolete.

Florida Is Dead Last. Read That Again.

Florida went from third-worst to worst. Median rent runs 18% above the national median. The typical resident spends 37.4% of income on housing — the highest cost burden in the country. The state has zero statewide renter protections across all four evaluated categories.
I’ve been saying for a while that the Florida story has turned. This confirms it. When you combine a cost-burdened renter base with no regulatory floor and a saturated multifamily pipeline, you’re not looking at a recovery — you’re looking at a pressure system.

The Regional Picture Is Stark

The Mountain West and Upper Midwest own the top 10. The South tells the opposite story: 11 of 16 Southern states land in the bottom half of the rankings — reflecting not just elevated costs but a near-total absence of legal infrastructure protecting tenants.

Capital has been flooding the Sun Belt for five years. The renter experience data is now moving in the opposite direction.

The Takeaway for Operators and Investors

The best rental markets for residents are not the ones getting the capital. That’s the real story here.

For build-to-rent operators and multifamily investors, the divergence between affordability metrics and investment concentration isn’t just a social commentary problem — it’s an operational one. When your renter base is cost-burdened, you get higher turnover, higher concessions, and thinner NOI. The retention problem is already baked in.

The markets the data keeps pointing to — Upper Midwest, secondary Mountain West — aren’t glamorous. They don’t generate conference panel discussions. But they’re producing the conditions that actually support long-term rental performance: moderate rents, income alignment, and vacancy buffers.

That’s not a narrative. That’s underwriting.

Data sourced from ConsumerAffairs Research annual renter-friendliness rankings.

— Daniel Kaufman | Kaufman & Company (thekaufmanco.com)