America's most cash-strapped cities (2026)
Key findings
- Detroit, MI ranks as the most cash-strapped large U.S. city: 60.7% of renters pay 30%+ of income on rent and 45.0% of households earn under $35,000.
- The top five: Detroit, MI, Hartford, CT, Gainesville, FL, Cleveland, OH, Jackson, MS.
- California has the most cities in the top 50 (8), followed by Florida (7).
- In the 50 most strained large cities, median rent takes 28.0% of median household income, versus 16.4% in the 10 least strained.
- The least strained large city is Fishers, IN.
The 50 most cash-strapped large cities
| Rank | City | State | Score | Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | Households under $35k | Poverty rate | Unemployment rate | Rent as % of median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit | MI | 99.7 | 60.7% | 45.0% | 32.7% | 14.0% | 32.3% |
| 2 | Hartford | CT | 98.5 | 59.4% | 39.4% | 26.3% | 10.7% | 32.8% |
| 3 | Gainesville | FL | 98.2 | 68.0% | 40.2% | 30.8% | 5.5% | 33.7% |
| 4 | Cleveland | OH | 98.1 | 53.2% | 44.3% | 30.6% | 10.8% | 27.8% |
| 5 | Jackson | MS | 98.1 | 60.3% | 42.5% | 27.9% | 9.3% | 30.1% |
| 6 | Newark | NJ | 98.0 | 57.1% | 35.4% | 23.4% | 11.6% | 32.1% |
| 7 | Paterson | NJ | 97.6 | 59.4% | 32.6% | 21.2% | 10.7% | 33.2% |
| 8 | El Cajon | CA | 97.3 | 70.1% | 25.9% | 20.5% | 9.6% | 33.0% |
| 9 | Waterbury | CT | 96.6 | 58.6% | 36.0% | 24.7% | 9.3% | 28.3% |
| 10 | Baton Rouge | LA | 96.2 | 58.7% | 37.8% | 25.7% | 9.2% | 25.6% |
| 11 | New Haven | CT | 96.0 | 56.6% | 33.1% | 23.9% | 8.4% | 31.4% |
| 12 | Rochester | NY | 95.7 | 53.3% | 39.3% | 27.8% | 7.9% | 27.5% |
| 13 | Syracuse | NY | 95.6 | 55.4% | 39.2% | 28.8% | 7.7% | 26.1% |
| 14 | Springfield | MA | 95.4 | 57.7% | 35.6% | 25.8% | 8.7% | 26.1% |
| 15 | Dayton | OH | 95.2 | 53.0% | 40.2% | 26.9% | 9.0% | 24.3% |
| 16 | Miami Gardens | FL | 95.2 | 68.0% | 25.5% | 13.6% | 9.0% | 33.7% |
| 17 | Bridgeport | CT | 95.1 | 59.5% | 31.2% | 21.0% | 9.0% | 29.6% |
| 18 | Sunrise Manor | NV | 95.0 | 63.1% | 29.5% | 20.2% | 9.2% | 28.7% |
| 19 | Allentown | PA | 95.0 | 60.9% | 31.5% | 21.0% | 9.0% | 28.5% |
| 20 | Shreveport | LA | 94.2 | 55.7% | 37.9% | 23.5% | 9.0% | 24.3% |
| 21 | Macon | GA | 94.0 | 58.0% | 36.0% | 24.7% | 8.1% | 25.0% |
| 22 | Paradise | NV | 93.9 | 61.6% | 29.4% | 17.6% | 9.8% | 27.8% |
| 23 | Memphis | TN | 93.9 | 55.7% | 34.0% | 23.1% | 8.3% | 27.4% |
| 24 | Birmingham | AL | 93.8 | 55.6% | 39.3% | 24.7% | 5.8% | 28.8% |
| 25 | Hialeah | FL | 93.5 | 64.0% | 33.1% | 17.0% | 4.1% | 36.5% |
| 26 | New Orleans | LA | 93.4 | 59.8% | 34.9% | 22.6% | 7.5% | 26.5% |
| 27 | Columbia | SC | 93.3 | 60.0% | 33.3% | 24.0% | 7.5% | 26.0% |
| 28 | Miami | FL | 93.2 | 62.9% | 30.3% | 19.4% | 5.2% | 33.8% |
| 29 | Tuscaloosa | AL | 93.2 | 56.3% | 36.8% | 25.1% | 7.7% | 24.6% |
| 30 | Victorville | CA | 93.0 | 61.7% | 23.4% | 18.4% | 11.1% | 26.1% |
| 31 | Athens | GA | 92.9 | 59.5% | 34.9% | 26.5% | 5.3% | 27.6% |
| 32 | Tallahassee | FL | 92.4 | 60.6% | 32.5% | 23.6% | 6.4% | 27.0% |
| 33 | Buffalo | NY | 92.2 | 52.3% | 36.9% | 26.0% | 7.3% | 25.1% |
| 34 | Dearborn | MI | 91.8 | 64.3% | 30.5% | 24.3% | 6.6% | 24.4% |
| 35 | Chico | CA | 91.7 | 62.2% | 29.1% | 22.7% | 6.8% | 26.7% |
| 36 | Pompano Beach | FL | 91.3 | 62.3% | 25.1% | 15.2% | 8.0% | 30.8% |
| 37 | Akron | OH | 91.2 | 53.8% | 36.5% | 23.3% | 7.8% | 23.8% |
| 38 | Augusta | GA | 90.9 | 55.9% | 33.1% | 20.1% | 8.6% | 24.7% |
| 39 | Inglewood | CA | 90.7 | 63.9% | 24.5% | 14.6% | 8.3% | 29.5% |
| 40 | Boulder | CO | 90.7 | 66.1% | 25.9% | 21.5% | 6.0% | 27.7% |
| 41 | Philadelphia | PA | 90.6 | 52.3% | 31.6% | 21.4% | 8.1% | 27.1% |
| 42 | Savannah | GA | 90.3 | 54.9% | 30.6% | 19.7% | 7.2% | 29.0% |
| 43 | Hollywood | FL | 90.1 | 67.7% | 26.7% | 14.7% | 6.5% | 29.5% |
| 44 | New Bedford | MA | 89.1 | 52.6% | 33.7% | 20.6% | 8.3% | 23.9% |
| 45 | Fresno | CA | 89.0 | 58.0% | 26.4% | 20.1% | 8.9% | 24.0% |
| 46 | Los Angeles | CA | 88.7 | 59.3% | 23.7% | 16.5% | 8.2% | 28.3% |
| 47 | Glendale | CA | 88.6 | 62.3% | 22.7% | 12.9% | 8.3% | 29.6% |
| 48 | Las Cruces | NM | 88.1 | 57.0% | 35.6% | 22.6% | 7.0% | 21.1% |
| 49 | Rockford | IL | 88.0 | 53.7% | 33.2% | 21.3% | 8.5% | 21.6% |
| 50 | Hesperia | CA | 88.0 | 59.3% | 20.9% | 16.9% | 9.3% | 26.4% |
The 10 least cash-strapped large cities
| Rank | City | State | Score | Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | Households under $35k | Poverty rate | Unemployment rate | Rent as % of median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 345 | Fishers | IN | 4.1 | 40.1% | 8.7% | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14.8% |
| 344 | Carmel | IN | 4.3 | 43.5% | 7.2% | 3.9% | 2.7% | 14.5% |
| 343 | Cary | NC | 6.7 | 38.2% | 9.8% | 5.7% | 3.5% | 15.5% |
| 342 | Olathe | KS | 6.9 | 43.5% | 11.9% | 5.6% | 2.7% | 13.8% |
| 341 | Naperville | IL | 7.2 | 39.5% | 9.0% | 4.4% | 4.5% | 14.6% |
| 340 | Frisco | TX | 10.6 | 45.1% | 7.6% | 3.6% | 4.6% | 16.1% |
| 339 | Sunnyvale | CA | 11.4 | 34.7% | 8.7% | 5.8% | 4.5% | 19.6% |
| 338 | Bellevue | WA | 13.0 | 35.7% | 10.9% | 7.2% | 4.2% | 18.6% |
| 337 | Overland Park | KS | 13.9 | 42.8% | 12.7% | 5.6% | 3.6% | 17.3% |
| 336 | Arlington | VA | 15.7 | 40.1% | 11.4% | 7.4% | 3.3% | 19.6% |
Rankings by state
Download the full dataset (CSV, 4,121 cities)
Methodology
The Cash Strain Index combines five measures of household financial pressure for every U.S. city with 10,000+ residents that has complete data (4,121 cities; college towns with a median age under 25 are excluded because student households distort income measures): the share of renters paying 30% or more of income on rent, the share of households earning under $35,000, the poverty rate, the unemployment rate, and median annual rent as a percentage of median household income. Each measure is standardized (z-score) across all ranked cities and the five are averaged with equal weight. The score shown is a percentile from 0 to 100, where 100 means more strain than every other ranked city. The national list ranks cities with 100,000+ residents; state lists rank every city with 10,000+ residents.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25070, B19001, B17001, B23025, B25064, B19013). ACS estimates carry margins of error, so small differences between neighboring ranks are not meaningful.
Use this data
Journalists, researchers and bloggers may use these rankings and the CSV with credit and a link to this page (“Zebra Finance Cash Strain Index 2026”). Questions or a custom cut for your city: support@zebrafinance.com.