Credit: Downtown Orlando/Facebook

The City Beautiful is one of the least affordable cities in Florida and the U.S., trailing behind even some of Florida’s most cost-burdened cities, such as St. Petersburg and Pembroke Pines.

That’s according to a new report from WalletHub, which analyzed data on median household income and the median annual gross rent in 182 U.S. cities, including the 150 most populous cities, gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau. 

According to the data, current as of March 18, Orlando renters are paying 28.9 percent of their income on rental costs, on average, compared to more affordable cities such as Bismarck, North Dakota, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where renters fork over just 15 to 16 percent of their income for rent, respectively.

A person paying upward of one-third of their income — or roughly 33 percent — on housing is considered “cost-burdened,” with less of a cushion to cover other basic expenses, such as transportation and groceries.

Miami, a city increasingly populated by billionaires, is the only city in Florida that ranked even worse than Orlando for affordability. Orlando ranked No. 175 out of the 182 cities included in the study, while Miami ranked dead last. Analysts found that median annual gross rents in Miami require 33.7 percent of household income to cover rent.

“In the most affordable cities for renters, the median cost of rent is as low as 15 percent of the median income, compared to nearly 34 percent in the most expensive cities,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “This gives people in the least expensive cities a clear financial advantage; the money they save on rent could go toward their emergency fund or savings for future home ownership.” 

Over the last decade, U.S. rental costs have surged by more than 50 percent, according to the Federal Reserve’s Consumer Price index. In the Orlando metro, average rents shot up nearly 30 percent from 2019 to 2023 alone — and median wages haven’t kept up. The city, largely powered by a bustling tourism industry, has one of the lowest median annual wages of any metro area in the country.

As of publication, the average monthly rent in Orlando is $1,950, according to Zillow. That’s down $200 from the average rent this time last year. For a one-bedroom apartment, average rent is about $1,500 per month. Still, that’s far more than the roughly $1,000 average rent you could expect to pay in Orlando for a one-bedroom in 2019. 

It’s no wonder that Orlando’s homeless population has been growing in recent years, and that local governments have been scrambling (and simultaneously wringing their hands) to address a lack of shelter space. According to local homeless advocates, there’s been a notable surge in older adults, often living on a fixed income, who are becoming homeless for the first time. 

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General news reporter for Orlando Weekly, with a focus on state and local government and workers' rights. You can find her bylines in Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, In These Times, and Facing South.