Potential Rental Yields Fall in 54.8 Percent of Counties; Rent Prices Outpacing Home Prices in 55 Percent of Counties
IRVINE, Calif. – March 5, 2026 — ATTOM, the leading provider of property data, AI-powered analytics, and real estate intelligence solutions, today released its annual Single-Family Rental Market report, which ranks the best U.S. markets for buying single-family rental properties in 2026.
The report examined single-family rental returns in the 416 counties with sufficient rental and home sales price data to analyze. The analysis for this report incorporated data compiled by ATTOM on average rents, as well as median home prices from public-record sales deeds in counties with sufficient single-family home sales data. Those two data sources were combined with average wage figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (see full methodology below).
Rental yields are declining from 2025 to 2026 in 54.8 percent (187) of the 341 counties with sufficient data to analyze for both years.
Those drops in profitability come despite rent increases outstripping home price increases in more than half of counties. In 55 percent (229) of the 416 counties with sufficient rent and price data to analyze, median rents rose at a greater rate than median sales prices between 2025 and 2026.
Last year was a historic one for home values, posting a record high national median sales price of $360,000 for the year. As a result, landlords are facing higher up-front costs to acquire properties than they ever have before, but those price increases are also forcing many tenants to continue renting, even at increased rates, because they can’t afford to buy.
“Many landlords have been able to offset higher acquisition costs with rent growth, but returns are tightening in a majority of counties,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “Even though rents and wages are rising in many markets, record-high home prices are compressing yields. Investors will need to be more selective, focusing on markets where rent growth and affordability trends continue to support strong returns.”
Midwestern counties top rental return projections
The counties with the highest potential rental yields for three-bedroom apartments in 2026 were Saint Clair County, IL (14.5 percent yield); Mobile County, AL (13.6 percent); Peoria County, IL (12.5 percent); Saint Louis County, MN (11.6 percent); and Trumbull County, OH (11.5 percent).
Among counties with populations over 1 million, the highest potential rental yields were in Suffolk County, NY (10.8 percent); Cook County, IL (9.8 percent); Cuyahoga County, OH (9.5 percent); Harris County, TX (8 percent); and Oakland County, MI (7.8 percent).
Low returns in some high-cost California counties
The counties with the lowest potential gross rental yields in 2026 were Walton County, FL (3.1 percent); Santa Clara County, CA (3.1 percent); Williamson County, TN (3.3 percent); Loudoun County, VA (3.6 percent); and San Mateo County, CA (3.7 percent).
In addition to Santa Clara County, CA, the lowest potential rental yields among counties with populations over 1 million were in Honolulu County, HI (4.2 percent); Fairfax County, VA (4.4 percent); Orange County, CA (4.5 percent); and Alameda County, CA (4.5 percent).
Rental returns dip in majority of counties
Between 2026 and 2025, potential rental yields on three-bedroom apartments fell in 54.8 percent (187) of the 341 counties with sufficient data to analyze for both years.
The counties with the largest declines in potential yields were Atlantic County, NJ (down from 17.5 percent in 2025 to 8.5 percent in 2026); Suffolk County, NY (down from 17.7 percent to 10.8 percent); Indian River County, FL (down from 11.9 percent to 7.9 percent); Maui County, HI (down from 8 percent to 4.2 percent); and Caddo Parish, LA (down from 10.3 percent to 7.2 percent).
In addition to Suffolk County, NY, the largest rental yield declines among counties with populations over 1 million were in Riverside County, CA (down from 8.7 percent to 6.8 percent); Fulton County, GA (down from 5.2 percent to 4.7 percent); Oakland County, MI (down from 8.3 percent to 7.8 percent); and Tarrant County, TX (down from 7.8 percent to 7.3 percent).
Among those largest counties, the biggest increases in potential rental yields were in Alameda County, CA (up from 3.8 percent to 4.5 percent); Cook County, IL (up from 9.2 percent to 9.8 percent); Hillsborough County, FL (up from 6.8 percent to 7.2 percent); Sacramento County, CA (up from 5.7 percent to 6.1 percent); and Fresno County, CA (up from 6.5 percent to 6.9 percent).
Wages rising faster than rent and home prices in majority of counties
Typical wages increased at a greater rate than three-bedroom rents from 2025 to 2026 in 63 percent (262) of the 416 counties with sufficient data to analyze. The largest counties that saw wages outpace rents were Los Angeles County, CA; Harris County, TX; Maricopa County, AZ; San Diego County, CA, and Orange County, CA.
And wages rose at a greater rate than median home sales prices in 66.8 percent (278) of the 416 counties with sufficient data to analyze.
Best single-family rental markets
ATTOM’s analysis identified 18 “SFR Growth” counties where average wages grew over the past year and where potential 2026 rental yields exceeded 10 percent.
The largest of those counties are Suffolk County, NY; Onondaga County, NY; Lucas County, OH; Mobile County, AL; and Collier County, FL.
Conclusion
ATTOM’s 2026 Single-Family Rental Market Report finds potential rental yields declining in 54.8% of U.S. counties as record-high home prices raise acquisition costs for investors. While rents are rising faster than home prices in 55% of counties, higher property values are compressing overall returns in many markets. The report also highlights several Midwestern counties offering the strongest potential rental yields in 2026.
Methodology
For this report, ATTOM looked at U.S. counties with sufficient home price and rental rate data. ATTOM used single-family home price data from its publicly recorded sales deed data, as well as three-bedroom rental data, collected and licensed by ATTOM. The analysis also incorporated second-quarter 2025 average weekly wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (most recent available).
About ATTOM
ATTOM delivers AI-driven property intelligence built on one of the nation's most trusted property data assets, covering 158 million U.S. properties—99% of the population. Our engineered, multi-sourced real estate data spans property tax, deeds, mortgages, foreclosure, environmental risk, property conditions, natural hazards, neighborhood insights, and geospatial boundaries, rigorously validated for advanced analytics. ATTOM supports analytics and AI-driven applications through flexible delivery options including APIs, bulk licensing, cloud delivery, market trend products, and the MCP Server for AI-powered, agentic access to engineered property data—enabling organizations to automate analysis and scale property intelligence across industries.
Media Contact:
Megan Hunt
Megan.hunt@attomdata.com
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