Markets · States ranked
Best states to invest in rental property
All 51 states and DC, ranked by the median Overall across their ranked cities. Filter with the dropdown, or click any column to re-sort. Regions ranked →
| Rank | State | Region | Overall score | Grade | Gross yield | Home-value growth | Price-to-income | Job growth | Ranked cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | South Carolina | South Atlantic | 62.6 | A | 6.0% | 4.3% | 5.1× | 2.0% | 26 |
| #2 | Alabama | East South Central | 60.3 | A | 7.3% | 3.0% | 3.9× | 1.0% | 32 |
| #3 | Oklahoma | West South Central | 60.3 | A | 7.4% | 3.7% | 3.4× | 1.4% | 24 |
| #4 | Florida | South Atlantic | 58.8 | A | 6.8% | 2.8% | 5.7× | 1.8% | 112 |
| #5 | Arkansas | West South Central | 57.6 | B | 6.6% | 3.8% | 4.1× | 1.2% | 24 |
| #6 | Arizona | Mountain | 56.3 | B | 4.7% | 3.2% | 5.5× | 2.4% | 32 |
| #7 | Idaho | Mountain | 56.3 | B | 4.3% | 5.1% | 6.3× | 2.9% | 14 |
| #8 | Missouri | West North Central | 56.1 | B | 6.5% | 4.6% | 3.9× | 0.6% | 35 |
| #9 | Tennessee | East South Central | 55.7 | B | 6.2% | 3.6% | 5.1× | 1.1% | 32 |
| #10 | Georgia | South Atlantic | 55.4 | B | 6.2% | 4.4% | 4.7× | 1.1% | 52 |
| #11 | North Carolina | South Atlantic | 55 | B | 5.5% | 3.9% | 4.9× | 1.9% | 47 |
| #12 | Utah | Mountain | 54.5 | B | 3.9% | 4.8% | 5.9× | 2.7% | 44 |
| #13 | Indiana | East North Central | 53.5 | B | 6.9% | 5.0% | 4.0× | 0.9% | 47 |
| #14 | Delaware | South Atlantic | 52.2 | B | 6.3% | 4.3% | 5.6× | 1.2% | 4 |
| #15 | Maine | New England | 52.2 | B | 5.6% | 5.5% | 6.1× | 0.3% | 9 |
| #16 | Colorado | Mountain | 52 | B | 4.4% | 1.8% | 5.8× | 1.6% | 32 |
| #17 | Nebraska | West North Central | 51.6 | B | 5.7% | 4.3% | 4.1× | 0.9% | 11 |
| #18 | Nevada | Mountain | 51.5 | B | 4.8% | 4.3% | 6.0× | 1.5% | 9 |
| #19 | Michigan | East North Central | 51.2 | B | 9.8% | 5.5% | 3.6× | 0.6% | 54 |
| #20 | New Mexico | Mountain | 50.8 | B | 5.8% | 4.0% | 5.1× | 0.8% | 11 |
| #21 | Mississippi | East South Central | 50.6 | B | 9.9% | 1.9% | 3.6× | 0.3% | 20 |
| #22 | Minnesota | West North Central | 50.5 | B | 5.5% | 3.2% | 4.0× | 0.5% | 60 |
| #23 | Virginia | South Atlantic | 50.2 | C | 5.8% | 4.2% | 5.1× | 0.7% | 28 |
| #24 | Kansas | West North Central | 50.1 | C | 6.0% | 4.8% | 3.9× | 0.8% | 22 |
| #25 | Ohio | East North Central | 49.7 | C | 8.0% | 5.6% | 3.7× | 0.3% | 85 |
| #26 | Kentucky | East South Central | 48.2 | C | 6.1% | 4.8% | 4.4× | 0.2% | 18 |
| #27 | Texas | West South Central | 47.3 | C | 6.4% | 1.9% | 4.1× | 2.1% | 143 |
| #28 | South Dakota | West North Central | 47 | C | 4.7% | 4.1% | 4.8× | 1.1% | 5 |
| #29 | Rhode Island | New England | 45.7 | C | 5.7% | 6.5% | 6.3× | 0.9% | 8 |
| #30 | West Virginia | South Atlantic | 45.4 | C | 8.2% | 3.8% | 3.7× | -0.0% | 5 |
| #31 | Iowa | West North Central | 44.7 | C | 6.3% | 3.5% | 3.4× | 0.0% | 27 |
| #32 | North Dakota | West North Central | 44.5 | C | 4.3% | 3.4% | 4.6× | 0.9% | 8 |
| #33 | Montana | Mountain | 44.4 | C | 4.0% | 5.1% | 6.9× | 1.6% | 7 |
| #34 | Maryland | South Atlantic | 43.1 | D | 8.6% | 2.9% | 4.0× | -0.4% | 13 |
| #35 | District of Columbia | South Atlantic | 43 | D | 5.3% | -0.7% | 5.4× | 0.9% | 1 |
| #36 | Oregon | Pacific | 42.4 | D | 4.2% | 2.4% | 6.4× | 1.3% | 30 |
| #37 | Massachusetts | New England | 42.1 | D | 5.1% | 4.9% | 7.1× | 0.4% | 46 |
| #38 | Connecticut | New England | 42 | D | 6.5% | 7.0% | 5.6× | 0.3% | 18 |
| #39 | New Hampshire | New England | 41.9 | D | 5.4% | 6.3% | 5.7× | 0.2% | 7 |
| #40 | Wisconsin | East North Central | 41.6 | D | 5.6% | 6.4% | 4.6× | 0.4% | 41 |
| #41 | Louisiana | West South Central | 40.5 | D | 8.1% | 0.3% | 4.0× | -0.1% | 16 |
| #42 | Pennsylvania | Middle Atlantic | 39.8 | D | 8.2% | 4.9% | 4.2× | 0.6% | 28 |
| #43 | Illinois | East North Central | 39.5 | D | 7.6% | 4.8% | 4.0× | 0.2% | 120 |
| #44 | Washington | Pacific | 38.5 | D | 3.8% | 3.8% | 7.0× | 1.3% | 57 |
| #45 | New York | Middle Atlantic | 36 | D | 6.0% | 3.8% | 9.6× | 0.3% | 43 |
| #46 | Wyoming | Mountain | 35.7 | D | 4.7% | 3.4% | 4.9× | 0.0% | 5 |
| #47 | New Jersey | Middle Atlantic | 33.9 | F | 5.7% | 5.9% | 7.4× | 1.0% | 49 |
| #48 | Alaska | Pacific | 32.3 | F | 5.1% | 3.0% | 4.4× | 0.0% | 3 |
| #49 | California | Pacific | 32 | F | 4.0% | 3.8% | 9.0× | 0.5% | 296 |
| #50 | Hawaii | Pacific | 31.2 | F | 4.2% | 0.9% | 9.0× | 0.0% | 1 |
| #51 | Vermont | New England | 28.7 | F | 5.2% | 2.6% | 6.7× | 0.3% | 2 |
The Overall score is the median Balanced Overall of a state's ranked cities (high and medium coverage); its rank and A–F grade both derive from that same number, graded on the same thresholds as city grades. Low-coverage cities are excluded so thin data cannot move a state. How state and region scores are built →
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2019–2023 · Census PEP July 2024 · BLS LAUS county 2023 annual. Generated 2026-09-01. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.