All homes and bedroom counts
RENTAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Memphis, TN
Income-focused buyers who can verify property-level flood exposure and tenant depth should investigate Memphis cautiously; buyers relying on appreciation or expanding employment should avoid it.
Median price$248k
Median rent$1,435
Gross yield6.9%
Job growth▼ 0.4%
Composite Market ScoreRank #529 of 571 scored US market areas
Direct rental answer
How much is rent in Memphis, TN?
Zillow's metro-wide Observed Rent Index is $1,435 per month for 2026-06-30. That is up 0.74% from a year earlier.
Studio, 1BR and 2BR listings
Occupied rental units paying rent
Two-bedroom standard
These figures are not averaged together. Zillow and Realtor describe asking-rent markets, ACS measures rent paid by surveyed households, and HUD publishes administrative bedroom standards.
Exact county schedules
HUD rent benchmarks inside Memphis
Every row keeps its own county FIPS schedule. No county is selected as a metro proxy and no synthetic metro FMR is calculated.
| County | Studio | 1 BR | 2 BR | 3 BR | 4 BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby County, TNFIPS 47157 | $1,060 | $1,154 | $1,274 | $1,683 | $1,959 |
| DeSoto County, MSFIPS 28033 | $1,060 | $1,154 | $1,274 | $1,683 | $1,959 |
| Tipton County, TNFIPS 47167 | $1,060 | $1,154 | $1,274 | $1,683 | $1,959 |
| Crittenden County, ARFIPS 05035 | $1,060 | $1,154 | $1,274 | $1,683 | $1,959 |
| Fayette County, TNFIPS 47047 | $1,060 | $1,154 | $1,274 | $1,683 | $1,959 |
| Marshall County, MSFIPS 28093 | $840 | $846 | $1,110 | $1,331 | $1,835 |
| Tate County, MSFIPS 28137 | $825 | $830 | $1,089 | $1,337 | $1,493 |
| Tunica County, MSFIPS 28143 | $986 | $1,073 | $1,186 | $1,422 | $1,570 |
| Benton County, MSFIPS 28009 | $727 | $768 | $842 | $1,157 | $1,284 |
The read
Why this market scores where it does
Income-focused buyers who can verify property-level flood exposure and tenant depth should investigate Memphis cautiously; buyers relying on appreciation or expanding employment should avoid it. A 6.94% gross yield on a $247,919 median value and $1,435 asking rent creates an income case, but gross yield is before operating costs.
Rent rose 0.74% while home values rose 0.08%, which modestly favors entry economics. Against that, CES employment fell 0.45%, and tax filings show net migration of -3,794 households. The combination supports selective current-income underwriting, not broad confidence in demand growth.
Buyers have room to negotiate: inventory stands at 4.0 months and 30.75% of listings had price drops. The population-adjusted permitting rate is 2.85, but supply does not erase demand or hazard concerns. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, with a 0.1738% annual building-value loss ratio, so insurance and property-level exposure need confirmation.
Frequently Asked Investor Questions
What are the headline acquisition and rental metrics?
The median home value is $247,919, median asking rent is $1,435 per month, gross yield is 6.94%, and fair-market rent is $1,274.
What do current listings indicate about buyer leverage?
The record reports 4.0 months of supply, a median market time of 37 days, and price drops on 30.75% of listings.
Is household migration supporting demand?
Tax filings show 16,580 households moved in and 20,374 moved out, producing net migration of -3,794 households.
Investor Quick Takeaways
Gross Yield: 6.9%
Computed from the current Zillow rent and home-value medians.
Rent Momentum: ▲ 0.74%
Zillow ZORI rent growth trend over trailing 12 months.
Investor Activity: 17.3%
Originated investment purchase share (CFPB HMDA).
Climate Exposure: FEMA NRI
Annualized loss ratio evaluated for flood & hurricane risk.
Put the evidence to work
Test the market, then test the deal
Keep Memphis as the starting point or move into a more specific property and rent check.
Run cash flowStarts with this market's measured price and rentSave to shortlistCompare this metro with up to four other placesCheck rent by ZIPMove from metro context to a local rent benchmarkFind a comparison marketRead a curated two-market decision analysisShare this analysisEmail the canonical link without adding page scriptsReport a data issueSend the figure, source and release period to review
Market pulse
The current market in eight signals
Fast-moving Redfin conditions sit beside the slower fundamentals so a buyer can separate today's negotiating climate from the long-run investment case.
Months of supply4.0 mo.▲ from 3.5 mo. a year ago
Median days on market37 days▲ from 33 days a year ago
Listings with price drops30.8%▲ from 28.1% a year ago
Sale-to-list ratio97.6%2026-05-01
Home value growth▲ 0.1%Zillow ZHVI · trailing 12 months
Rent growth▲ 0.74%Zillow ZORI · trailing 12 months
Gross rental yield6.9%Rent × 12 ÷ price
Payroll job growth▼ 0.4%CES · 12m to 2026-06
Release-to-release evidence
What actually changed
This comparison exists because at least one underlying source period advanced. Rebuilding the same data never creates a new observation.
Published score held steady28→28
0 ptsThe published component scores did not move in this release.
Weights were unchanged at metro-2026-07-v2-omb2023, so the movement comes from refreshed evidence and percentile ranks.
The named source periods advanced, but the measured values on this page held steady.
The one chart
Rents versus prices, indexed to 2019
Both series start at 100. The gap between the lines is the investment case, and which line is closing it tells you what kind of market this is.
Reindexed Price vs. Rent Growth
2019 = 100 · annual · 2019–2026
Since 2019, prices are up 52% and rents 45%. Prices running ahead of rents is what compresses yield. ✓ recomputed from series
Composite breakdown
What each component measures
Weights are published, not hidden, and the arithmetic is shown. Five components, each measured as a national percentile across all tracked metros.
Published arithmeticComponent × weight = points
28| Signal | Score | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job growth | 27 | 30% | 8.10 |
| Rent trend | 13 | 25% | 3.25 |
| Affordability | 41 | 15% | 6.15 |
| Supply pressure | 37 | 15% | 5.55 |
| Climate risk | 32 | 15% | 4.80 |
| Published score | 28 | ||
Memphis, TN scoreRank #529
28Job growth27/100
CES employment fell 0.45% year over year -> labor-market demand is a risk rather than a support.
Rent trend13/100
Asking rent rose 0.74% and gross yield is 6.94% -> the income case rests more on current yield than on recent rent growth.
Affordability41/100
Median rent is 25.93% of income while price is 3.73 times income -> headline affordability supports screening but does not establish property-level cash flow.
Supply pressure37/100
The population-adjusted permitting rate is 2.85 and inventory is 4.0 months -> buyers should assess the development pipeline alongside current negotiating conditions.
Climate risk32/100
Inland flood is the dominant hazard and the annual loss ratio is 0.1738% -> property-level flood and insurance review is essential.
The numbers
What this market costs and what it earns
Every derived ratio below recomputes from the same source record used by the article and score.
ZHVI Median Price
$248k
YoY ▲ 0.1%
ZORI Median Rent
$1,435
YoY ▲ 0.74%
Gross Rental Yield
6.9%
Rent × 12 ÷ price
$1,435 × 12 ÷ $247,919
Job Growth (YoY)
▼ 0.4%
CES payrolls
Job signal 27/100
Median Household Income
$66k
Census ACS 5-year
Rent Burden
25.9%
Annual rent ÷ household income
Price-to-Income
3.7x
Median value ÷ household income
HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent
$1,274
Market rent 112.6% of FMR
Historical affordability context
Compare aligned 2019 and 2024 asking-rent and nominal household-income endpoints across the direct-overlap metro set.
Independent rent evidence
One market, several legitimate rent benchmarks
These releases observe different homes and different moments. RentMarker keeps them separate: ZORI remains the scoring baseline, while the other sources test how sensitive the market story is to bedroom mix and measurement method.
Monthly benchmark5 of 5 reported values
Zero-based scale$1,435Primary RentMarker baseline
2026-06-30
All homes and bedroom counts
A smoothed metro rent index for observed rentals; it is the primary rent used by RentMarker scores and career ratios.
View source release ↗$1,107−$328 vs ZORI
2026-05
Studio, 1BR and 2BR listings
The median advertised rent in Realtor.com's 50-largest-metro rental report; source NAs remain unavailable.
View source release ↗$1,154−$281 vs ZORI
FY2026 FMR
One-bedroom standard
An administrative gross-rent benchmark used by HUD programs; it is neither a listing median nor a prediction of one lease.
View source release ↗$1,274−$161 vs ZORI
FY2026 FMR
Two-bedroom standard
An administrative gross-rent benchmark used by HUD programs; it is neither a listing median nor a prediction of one lease.
View source release ↗$1,220−$215 vs ZORI
ACS 2024 5-year
Occupied rental units paying rent
A five-year survey estimate of contract rent plus applicable tenant-paid utilities; it is not a current asking-rent index.
View source release ↗Take the next step
Keep Memphis as context, then replace market-wide evidence with the candidate property's facts.
Direct local rental evidence
Recent leases and rental-market liquidity in Memphis, TN
These Apartment List observations match the exact metro CBSA code 32820. They are kept separate from Zillow asking rent, Census occupied-home rent and property-level comparables.
Direct recent-lease rent history
Monthly overall-rent index; missing observations are not filled from another geography.
Recent-lease rent$1,1042026-07 · -1.3% year over year
Rental vacancy8.3%2026-07 · -0.1 percentage points year over year
Time on marketn/an/a
Measured rent retention
How much of gross yield survives the first two measured deductions?
This bridge subtracts direct rental vacancy and effective property tax only. It is not net yield, NOI, cap rate or property cash flow.
measured retention property tax vacancy
- Gross yield
- 6.9%
- Vacancy
- 8.3%
- Effective tax
- 0.8%
- Retained yield
- 5.5%
Regional price level
What feels expensive inside Memphis
BEA compares each category with the United States, which equals 100. This is a 2024 price-level comparison—not annual inflation.
BEA Regional Price Parities · 2024US = 100
Occupation wage lens
How asking rent sits against major local occupations
Annualized Zillow asking rent is divided by each BLS annual median wage. This is a screening ratio for one wage, not a household budget or affordability verdict.
Six largest published major groupsannual rent ÷ median wage
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations$44,540 median wage
38.7%
Office and Administrative Support Occupations$45,940 median wage
37.5%
Sales and Related Occupations$35,940 median wage
47.9%
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations$29,080 median wage
59.2%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations$80,280 median wage
21.4%
Management Occupations$116,680 median wage
14.8%
Supply pipeline
What is being built, and for whom
Permits are the 12-to-24 month early warning. The total matters less than the mix: apartments compete with a rental the day they open.
National supply context
Compare this authorization pipeline with asking-rent growth, jobs and for-sale liquidity across the evidence-complete metro set.
Building permits by structure type
units per year · latest year annualised
3,776 units authorised in 2026, 5% of them in 5+ unit buildings. This is a single-family building cycle, so the competition is other houses, not new apartments. ✓ recomputed from series
Who is arriving, and who is buying
Demand, and the competition for it
Tax filings say how many households moved and what they earn; mortgage disclosures say how many local purchases went to someone who will not live there. Moves between counties inside this metro are netted out of both flow figures.
Net Household Move
−3,794
16,580 in vs 20,374 out (IRS SOI)
▼ 22.9% of arriving households
Mover Income Gap
−$11,551
Arriving $59,964 vs leaving $71,515
Average AGI per tax return (IRS SOI)
Investor Purchase Share
17.3%
2,408 of 13,888 originated purchase loans
CFPB HMDA 2024
Dominant Hazard
inland flooding
0.174% building value annual loss ratio
FEMA NRI · risk type: water
Compare yield and FEMA exposure →Households arrive mainly from: Davidson County · Madison County · Cook County · Lafayette County · Harris County
✓ 16,580 in − 20,374 out = -3,794 netDirect market links
Where tax-return households moved from and to
These are the largest flows where both counties map to a RentMarker market area. They are a documented subset of the all-US IRS totals above.
Leading inbound markets
- Nashville, TN688 arriving
- Dallas, TX394 arriving
- Chicago, IL301 arriving
Leading outbound markets
- Nashville, TN1,171 leaving
- Dallas, TX995 leaving
- Atlanta, GA502 leaving
The other side
What would make this a bad buy
Generated from the same figures with the instruction to argue against the score, and published unedited. A page that only agrees with itself is an advertisement.
Three ways the case breaks
- CES employment declined 0.45%, leaving labor-market support negative in the measured period.
- Tax filings show 20,374 households moved out versus 16,580 moving in, while inbound movers averaged $59,964 in income versus $71,515 for outbound movers.
- Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the annual climate loss ratio is 0.1738% of building value.
Inside this metro area
Move from the market-area average to local evidence
Use the available county and city pages to add local price, rent, housing, migration and hazard context to the market-area view.
County records
County · TNShelby County$222k home · 7.5% yieldCounty · MSDeSoto County$303k home · 6.6% yieldCounty · TNTipton County$278k home · 7.4% yieldCounty · ARCrittenden County$169k home · 8.9% yieldCounty · TNFayette County$377k home · 6.7% yieldCounty · MSMarshall County$218k home · n/a yieldCounty · MSTate County$249k home · n/a yieldCounty · MSTunica County$164k home · n/a yield
Cities in this market
Statistical peers
Market areas that behave like Memphis
Nearest neighbours on price level, income, yield and job growth — not on geography. Every market page gets a different peer set, which is the point.
| Market area | Score | Price | Rent | Yield | Job Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis, TN (Target) | 28 | $248k | $1,435 | 6.9% | ▼ 0.4% |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 38 | $248k | $1,393 | 6.8% | ▼ 0.6% |
| Cleveland, OH | 59 | $256k | $1,474 | 6.9% | ▼ 0.1% |
| New Orleans, LA | 16 | $265k | $1,617 | 7.3% | ▼ 0.9% |
| Baton Rouge, LA | 40 | $250k | $1,403 | 6.7% | ▼ 0.0% |
Provenance
Where every figure came from
“Checked nightly” means every source is re-pulled and re-verified each night. It does not mean every source moves nightly — the release column tells you how fresh each number can possibly be.
| Dataset Source | Method | Release Period | Pulled Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Census ACS 5-year — household income and gross rent | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-08-05 |
| Census ACS 5-year — historical household income | direct | ACS 2019 and 2024 5-year | 2026-08-05 |
| Census ACS 5-year — population | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-26 |
| Apartment List Rent Estimates — recent-lease rent index | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| Apartment List Time on Market — listing liquidity | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| Apartment List Vacancy Index — rental vacancy | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| BEA County Personal Income — income and population | direct | 2024 County Personal Income (released 2026-02-05); history 1969-2024 | 2026-08-03 |
| BEA Regional Price Parities — metropolitan price levels | direct | 2024 Regional Price Parities (released 2026-02-19); history 2008-2024 | 2026-08-03 |
| BLS CES — payroll employment | direct | CES SM current | 2026-07-26 |
| BLS LAUS — resident employment | direct | LAUS current | 2026-07-26 |
| BLS OEWS — occupation employment and wages | direct | May 2025 OEWS estimates (released 2026-05-15) | 2026-08-03 |
| BLS QCEW — county employment and wages | direct | annual county employment and wages 2021-2025; latest 2025 vs 2024 | 2026-08-02 |
| OMB/BLS delineation — metro geography | direct | OMB July 2023 delineation | 2026-07-30 |
| Census Building Permits Survey — permitted units | direct | BPS through 2026 | 2026-07-26 |
| Census ACS 5-year — city population, households and housing | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-29 |
| Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-30 |
| Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-30 |
| Census ACS five-year — ZCTA housing and income | direct | ACS 2024 5-year ZCTA | 2026-08-08 |
| FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratios | modelled | NRI counties (FEMA ArcGIS) | 2026-07-26 |
| FHFA House Price Index — annual county appreciation | direct | annual county HPI history 1975-2025; latest 2025 | 2026-08-02 |
| HMDA / CFPB — purchases by occupancy type | direct | HMDA 2024 purchase originations | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD CHAS — renter burden by HAMFI income band | direct | HUD CHAS 2018-2022 ACS 5-year (released 2025-12-23) | 2026-08-03 |
| HUD Fair Market Rents — Section 8 standard | direct | FY2026 FMR | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD USPS crosswalk and Small Area FMRs — ZIP rent fallback | direct | ZIP-CBSA 2025Q4 + SAFMR FY2026 | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD-USPS ZIP-to-county residential-address crosswalk | direct | HUD-USPS 2026Q1 | 2026-08-09 |
| IRS SOI — county migration and mover income | direct | SOI migration 2022-2023 | 2026-07-26 |
| Freddie Mac PMMS — mortgage rates | direct | week of 2026-07-30 | 2026-08-06 |
| Census ACS 5-year — effective property tax | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-08-06 |
| Realtor.com Economic Research — county listing inventory | direct | county inventory 2026-06 | 2026-07-28 |
| Realtor.com Rental Report — top-50 asking rents | direct | top-50 rental asking rents 2026-05 | 2026-08-05 |
| Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts | direct | metro tracker through 2026-05-01 | 2026-07-26 |
| Redfin Data Center — ZIP resale activity and supply | direct | ZIP rolling 3 months through 2026-06-30; updated 2026-07-03 | 2026-08-12 |
| USDA ERS — Rural-Urban Continuum Codes | direct | USDA ERS 2023 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes | 2026-08-02 |
| Zillow ZHVI and ZORI — county values and rents | direct | county ZHVI/ZORI 2026-06 | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZHVI — metro home values | direct | Metro_zhvi_uc_sfrcondo_tier_0.33_0.67_sm_sa_month.csv | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZHVI — city home values | direct | zillow_zhvi_city.csv | 2026-07-29 |
| Zillow ZORI — metro market rents | direct | Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_sa_month.csv | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZORI — city market rents | direct | zillow_zori_city.csv | 2026-07-29 |
| Zillow ZORI - metro market rents, not seasonally adjusted | direct | Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_month.csv | 2026-08-15 |
| Zillow ZORI — ZIP market rents | direct | ZORI ZIP 2026-06 | 2026-08-08 |