Is Wichita a good place to rent? Here’s where the city lands in national ranking

In an attempt to find the places “where renters can get the most bang for their buck,” WalletHub analysts examined 182 cities across America.

The cities — the 150 most populated U.S. cities and at least two of the most populated places from each state — were evaluated against 21 metrics that could be put in two buckets: “rental market & affordability” and “quality of life.”

WalletHub then determined each city’s weighted average across the metrics to find the best and worst cities for renters. The 2026 list was published July 7.

“In the best cities for renters, rent can cost you as little as around 15% of your income. You’ll also have access to robust laws that protect renters, such as limiting deposits to only a month or two of rent,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report. “Our study also considers quality-of-life factors such as a city’s traffic congestion, job market or recreation options to make sure you can get a good living experience, not just inexpensive housing.”

In Kansas, analysts looked at Overland Park and Wichita.

Is Wichita a good place to rent?

Using metrics like rental affordability, cost of living, weather, quality of public schools and city satisfaction, both Kansas cities ranked in the top 20% of the list.

Overland Park placed exceptionally high as the 4th best place to rent in the country, and Wichita was named the 33rd best city to rent.

Wichita was named the 12th best for rental market and affordability, but 104th for quality of life. Overland Park placed 9th and 4th, respectively.

Rental market and affordability metrics included share of renters, rental vacancy rate, sublet laws-friendliness, average home square footage, share of newer homes, rental affordability, share of apartment community pillar listings, historical rent-price changes, share of severely cost-burdened renter households, average annual renters-insurance premium, rent-to-price ratio, cost of living and security deposit limit.

Quality of life metrics included city satisfaction index, job market, driver friendliness, recreation friendliness, weather, quality of public school system, safety and presence of state bedbug laws.

Best and worst US cities for renters

The top three cities for renters, according to the WalletHub report, are all in Arizona: Scottsdale, Gilbert and Chandler.

The bottom three cities for renters are Jackson, Mississippi, Cleveland and Detroit, according to analysts.