It’s no secret that rent rates in California are higher than most other states, and new data shows that the majority of the worst cities for renters are in the Golden State.
According to researchers at USA Today Homefront, the publication’s homeowner assistance resource, typical rent prices in the U.S. between December 2018 and December 2023 were “far outpacing” the rate of overall inflation.
In addition, an increasing number of Americans are becoming “rent-burdened,” which includes any renter paying more than 30 percent of their income to rent, USA Today researchers said, citing the 2022 United States Census American Community Survey.
The effects of rising rent prices and high inflation are being felt across California more than anywhere, with researchers finding that the bottom ten spots of the 315 cities studied were in the Golden State – half of which are in SoCal.
Finishing dead last on the list of worst cities for renters in the United States is Menifee, where almost 79 percent of renters are rent-burdened. The median rent in the city, located in Riverside County, is $2,682 while the median income is just $42,338, the study found.
The ten worst cities for renters can be viewed in the table below. Each city’s rank is based on where they finished in the USA Today Homefront study.
| Rank | City | County | % of rent-burdened residents | Typical rent | % of vacant rentals | Regional Price Parity* | Crime rate per 1,000 residents |
| 306. | Victorville | San Bernardino | 61.9% | $2,122 | 0.8% | 106.4 | 24.0 |
| 307. | Fairfield | Solano | 58.9% | $2,478 | 2.2% | 112.6 | 32.0 |
| 308. | Hayward | Alameda | 55.7% | $2,561 | 1.4% | 117.9 | 40.6 |
| 309. | El Cajon | San Diego | 67.1% | $2,523 | 1.8% | 114.5 | 20.8 |
| 310. | Richmond | Contra Costa | 55.3% | $2,633 | 1.7% | 117.9 | 45.1 |
| 311. | Lancaster | Los Angeles | 58.5% | $2,671 | 5.1% | 113.1 | 24.1 |
| 312. | Antioch | Contra Costa | 64.2% | $2,863 | 5.8% | 117.9 | 31.7 |
| 313. | Oceanside | San Diego | 64.2% | $2,893 | 2.7% | 114.5 | 24.0 |
| 314. | Palmdale | Los Angeles | 62.1% | $2,764 | 3.6% | 113.1 | 18.5 |
| 315. | Menifee | Riverside | 78.8% | $2,682 | 3.8% | 106.4 | 19.0 |
A silver lining for California renters is that one city in the Golden State actually ranks in the top ten for best cities for renters, USA Today data suggests; Santa Clara finished tenth on the list, with researchers finding that while some cities are not always cheaper than the larger city they surround (in Santa Clara’s case, San Jose), higher overall incomes mean fewer rent-burdened residents.
“Top-ranked cities also tend to have lower crime rates and better-ranking schools than their urban counterparts,” researchers said.
The other nine cities in the list of the best for renters are in the Midwest, Texas or on the East Coast:
| Rank | City | Typical rent | Annual renter income | % of rent-burdened residents | % of vacant rentals |
| 1. | Cary, North Carolina | $1,719 | $73,872 | 42.3% | 18.3% |
| 2. | Overland Park, Kansas | $1,572 | $64,561 | 39.1% | 9.4% |
| 3. | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | $1,170 | $48,819 | 37% | 4.2% |
| 4. | Frisco, Texas | $1,898 | $88,410 | 45.4% | 2.5% |
| 5. | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | $1,472 | $45,824 | 43.8% | 6.8% |
| 6. | Arlington, Virginia | $2,488 | $102,710 | 40.1% | 4.2% |
| 7. | Jersey City, New Jersey | $3,073 | $77,318 | 41.2% | 2.3% |
| 8. | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | $982 | $38,803 | 42.7% | 13.1% |
| 9. | Fargo, North Dakota | $899 | $42,714 | 43.6% | 6.7% |
| 10. | Santa Clara, California | $3,123 | $136,060 | 36.9% | 5.8% |
Officials from the city of Menifee, California provided a statement to KTLA saying in part:
Menifee continues to be one of the fastest-growing cities in California, with an average home price of just over $500,000. Menifee also has a home owner-occupied rate of over 75%. A recent report provided by ESRI incorporating U.S. Census data shows Menifee’s median income in 2023 was $87,440.
As one of the newest cities in California, Menifee is still in the early stages of its development with the majority of new residential development having been single-family homes. However, we are starting to see a shift to more multi-family development in line with the City’s Housing Element, which is required for all cities by the State of California.in 2023, the City issued 1,568 residential building permits with 78% being single-family homes and 22% multi-family units. This fiscal year, we have issued 1,032 residential permits with 64% single-family and 36% multi-family. The City currently has over 1,500 units of new multi-family units in process.
More information on the USA Today Homefront research, including more metrics and the study’s methodology, can be found here.