Median rent-to-wage share: 18.5%.
Rent + occupation wages · constrained national screen
Rental markets supported by many occupation wages
Direct BLS major-occupation medians show where at least half of published wage groups clear the same asking-rent screen.
Question answeredWhich directly matched metro labor markets have at least half of published major occupation wages clear current Zillow asking rent?
Visual ranking
The leading ten, with one metric encoded.
The chart stays intentionally narrow: it shows the ordering metric, while the table and counter-signals keep the rest of the decision visible.
The median of the ten displayed leaders, not a national threshold.
The table preserves the counter-metrics needed before opening a market brief.
Evidence table
Top twenty qualifying market areas.
Each row links to the full metro evidence. Figures retain the units and concepts named in the column headers.
| Rank | Market area | Median rent / wage | Groups clearing screen | Market rent | Largest-group wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Weirton, WV | 18.5% | 86.4% | $781 | $44.3k |
| #2 | Mansfield, OH | 21.1% | 72.7% | $918 | $43.9k |
| #3 | Kokomo, IN | 21.2% | 71.4% | $1k | $75.9k |
| #4 | Johnstown, PA | 21.8% | 81.8% | $863 | $41k |
| #5 | Sheboygan, WI | 22.1% | 72.7% | $1.1k | $51.9k |
| #6 | Waterloo, IA | 22.5% | 77.3% | $996 | $50k |
| #7 | Decatur, IL | 22.5% | 77.3% | $1k | $57.7k |
| #8 | Wheeling, WV | 22.8% | 72.7% | $919 | $39.5k |
| #9 | Ames, IA | 23.1% | 77.3% | $1.1k | $30k |
| #10 | Grand Forks, ND | 23.2% | 68.2% | $1.1k | $47.6k |
| #11 | Oshkosh, WI | 23.6% | 68.2% | $1.2k | $57k |
| #12 | Terre Haute, IN | 23.7% | 77.3% | $989 | $27.7k |
| #13 | Muncie, IN | 23.8% | 70.0% | $979 | $28.1k |
| #14 | Green Bay, WI | 24.0% | 68.2% | $1.2k | $48k |
| #15 | Davenport, IA | 24.1% | 77.3% | $1k | $45.1k |
| #16 | Cape Girardeau, MO | 24.1% | 72.7% | $965 | $39.4k |
| #17 | Wausau, WI | 24.2% | 72.7% | $1k | $48.3k |
| #18 | Fond du Lac, WI | 24.3% | 63.6% | $1.2k | $51.2k |
| #19 | Battle Creek, MI | 24.3% | 68.2% | $1.1k | $48.5k |
| #20 | Saginaw, MI | 24.4% | 63.6% | $1.1k | $42.4k |
Method and limits
What this order means—and what it does not.
This is a repeatable screening order, not an investment recommendation, forecast or property-level estimate.
Inclusion and ordering rule: Include every current metropolitan statistical area whose exact OMB 23-01 CBSA code has a direct May 2025 OEWS all-occupations record, at least 20 major groups with published annual median wages and a current Zillow ZORI value. Micropolitan and OEWS nonmetropolitan areas do not enter.
How it is calculated
- Annualized asking rent is current monthly Zillow ZORI multiplied by 12; each occupation-group ratio divides that amount by the group's direct OEWS annual median wage.
- A group clears the descriptive support rule when annualized rent is at or below 30 percent of its median annual wage. The published group count remains the denominator; suppressed wages stay out rather than being estimated.
- Markets are ordered by the median rent-to-wage ratio across their available major groups. Employment counts, jobs per 1,000 and location quotients remain separate direct context, and no score is created.
Counter-signals to carry
- One worker's median wage is not household income: renters may have multiple earners, part-time work, transfers, debt or other resources and obligations.
- A strong wage ratio for a small occupation does not describe the typical local worker; the largest employment group and its published share remain visible.
- Current asking rent and May 2025 occupational wages have different reference periods, so the ratio is a named cross-source screen rather than a synchronized affordability estimate.
Limits before use
- OEWS covers wage-and-salary workers in nonfarm establishments and excludes the self-employed, most agriculture, private households and unpaid family workers.
- May 2025 estimates combine six survey panels collected over three years and use model-based estimation; employment counts are rounded and some employment or wage values are suppressed.
- ZORI describes a typical metro asking rent across available units, not the rent paid by workers in a particular occupation, household type, bedroom count or neighborhood.
Source ledger
Named releases behind this ranking.
Release period and pull date remain attached so a later refresh can reproduce a different order honestly.
Next decision
Move from a market screen to a property test.
Open the market evidence first, then replace market-wide typicals with the candidate property’s actual price, rent and operating assumptions.