About RentIndex
What should rent actually cost?
What we do
RentIndex compares local rents to HUD Fair Market Rent and area income so renters know when a listing is fair.
We focus on U.S. rent, Fair Market Rent, and housing affordability. Every page on rentindex.org is built from HUD Fair Market Rent data and the Census ACS, cited and linkable so readers can trace any number back to its source.
Who this is for
RentIndex is built for renters, landlords, housing reporters, and affordability researchers.
Why this exists
Public data on U.S. rent, Fair Market Rent, and housing affordability is technically free, but practically locked behind file formats, acronyms, and paywalled dashboards. RentIndexexists to close that gap: take the raw federal and public-sector data, and turn it into pages a normal person can read in thirty seconds.
How we work
- Primary source only. We pull from HUD Fair Market Rent data and the Census ACS and cite the exact dataset and version on every page.
- No invented numbers. If a figure is not in the underlying public data, it does not appear on rentindex.org. We never generate synthetic statistics to fill gaps.
- Refreshed on a schedule. Data is refetched on a published cadence — you can see the "Last updated" date on every dataset page.
- Corrections welcome. Readers flag issues all the time. When the source fixes a record, RentIndex follows.
Independence
RentIndex is an independent publication. We are not funded, owned, or directed by any of the agencies, companies, or organizations that appear in our data. Hosting is paid for by advertising — see our Privacy Policy for details — and we do not take paid placements, sponsored rankings, or "remove-my-entry" fees.
History
RentIndex launched in 2026 as part of a small portfolio of independent public-data sites. It has been maintained and updated continuously since.
Contact
Tips, corrections, data-partnership questions, and press inquiries: [email protected]. More options on our contact page.