Renting in the U.S., checked against the official numbers
What does rent really cost where you live? Is that listing real? Will you get your deposit back? Safe Rental Guide answers a renter’s questions from federal data and the text of the law, and links every figure to the page it comes from.
Latest guides
- Can a Landlord Do That? Eight Situations the Fair Housing Act Covers
The Fair Housing Act protects renters on seven grounds, and most violations don’t sound like discrimination when they happen. Eight everyday situations, what the federal law says about each, and how to report one within the one-year limit. - Same Metro, Double the Rent: What HUD’s ZIP Code Data Shows for FY 2027
One rent figure per metro hides most of the story. In HUD’s FY 2027 ZIP code file, the priciest ZIP in a large metro typically runs 1.85 times the cheapest. We counted the gaps, metro by metro. - Getting Your Security Deposit Back: A Move-In to Move-Out Timeline
Most deposit disputes are decided by what you did on move-in day, months before you ask for the money back. A step-by-step timeline, with the actual deadlines in California, New York and Florida as examples. - What Renters Insurance Covers, What It Leaves Out, and How to Size a Policy
Your landlord’s insurance covers the building, not your things. A plain guide to the three parts of a renters policy, the gaps most people miss, and how to pick coverage amounts without overpaying. - Rental Listing Scams: How They Work and How to Check a Listing Before You Pay
People have reported nearly 65,000 rental scams to the FTC since 2020, with a typical loss of $1,000. Here is how the fake listings work, who gets hit most, and seven checks to run before any money leaves your account. - FY 2027 Fair Market Rents: Where HUD’s Rent Benchmark Rose and Where It Fell
We matched HUD’s new FY 2027 Fair Market Rents against last year’s, row by row. The two-bedroom benchmark rose in 3,416 places and fell in 1,338. Here is where, and what the number can and can’t tell a renter.
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We count the data ourselves
Every year the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes its rent benchmarks for every county and ZIP code in the country. Almost nobody opens the files. We do, and we publish what’s in them: where the benchmark rose, where it fell, and how far rents spread inside a single city.
See this year’s county-by-county count or read how we count.
Written by a renter
This site is written by someone who rents, not by a company in the rental business. Nobody pays to be mentioned. Who is behind it and why.
Safe Rental Guide is general information, not legal, financial or insurance advice, and is not affiliated with any government agency. See the Disclaimer.