A RIA Novosti study showed that the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug ranks first among Russian regions for housing rental affordability, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug second, and Chechnya and Ingushetia came at the end of the list.
As experts recall, the housing question remains one of the most difficult for Russian families, and its acuteness depends little on the economic situation. It can be solved, in essence, in three ways: save up for one's own housing, take out a mortgage, or rent an apartment.
However, rising real estate prices and high mortgage rates have noticeably reduced families' options, and for many of them the first two options have effectively become unavailable. Against this backdrop, renting is often the only way out, but for a significant part of families it too is turning into an unaffordable expense item, especially given everyday spending. This is clearly shown by the share of families that can simultaneously rent housing and bear mandatory everyday expenses.
To assess regional differences in rental affordability, RIA Novosti experts conducted a study and compiled a rating showing what share of families can rent a two-room apartment while also spending money on everyday needs. The results showed that rental affordability for families with children has begun to grow in recent years, but on average remains not very high so far. At the same time, rental affordability parameters differ noticeably by region, the compilers of the rating note.
According to the study, in January-September 2026 the share of Russian families for whom housing rental is affordable rose to a record value. The share of families with two working adults and two children who can rent a two-room apartment in the current rating was 53.6%.
Thus, the local maximum of 2023 was updated, when the share of families for whom rental was affordable was 50.5%. For comparison, the local minimum of the last eight years was recorded in 2018 - 36%. The growth in rental affordability in 2026 was the result of wages increasing faster than the dynamics of rental rates.
In regional terms, growth in the affordability of renting a two-room apartment in January-September 2026 relative to the same period of 2025 was observed in 81 regions. On average in Russia, rental housing affordability grew by 3.5 percentage points over the year. At the same time, the median value in regions with positive dynamics was 3.7 percentage points, and among the four regions with a decline it was -0.7 percentage points.
In monetary terms, on average in Russia the budget a family needs to rent a two-room apartment, according to the results of the current study, rose to 131 thousand rubles. For comparison, back in 2023 (January-September) the average Russian family needed an income of less than 100 thousand rubles, and in the pre-pandemic 2019 - slightly less than 80 thousand rubles. Thus, since 2019 the required income of a family consisting of two working adults and two children to rent an apartment has grown by more than 60%.
The leader in affordability of renting a two-room apartment in the current rating is the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, where the share of families able to rent housing is 77.5%. At the same time, according to RIA Novosti estimates, to rent an apartment and cover basic expenses a family of four in this region needs 140 thousand rubles a month.
Second in apartment rental affordability was the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug with a result of 77.4%. The top three by share of families with high rental affordability is completed by Magadan Region with a result of 72.1%. In these two regions, the budget of a family of four must exceed 183 and 209 thousand rubles a month respectively for trouble-free housing rental. Thus, in the three leading regions the share of families is at a fairly high level.
The top ten by share of families able to rent housing included: Tatarstan (66.7%), Sakhalin Region (66.4%), Nenets Autonomous Okrug (66%), Murmansk Region (65.5%), Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (64.8%), Belgorod Region (64.2%) and Kaluga Region (63.8%). Overall, 19 regions surpassed the 60% threshold in the share of families for whom rental is affordable. In another 32 federal subjects the affordability indicator is at a fairly high level - in the range of 50-60%.
In four regions, less than 25% of families with two children can rent housing and make everyday expenses, and in two of them this share does not exceed 20%. For comparison, in January-September 2023 and 2025, 8 and 5 regions respectively failed to surpass the 25% rental affordability level.
Experts note that thus in 2026 the trend of a declining number of regions with low rental affordability continued, which in turn is linked to faster wage growth compared with the increase in the subsistence minimum and rental rates.
Among regions with low rental affordability, North Caucasus republics predominate: Chechnya, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan. The low rental affordability in these regions is explained by moderate wages, which together results in an insufficient level of income needed for renting, experts explain.
The largest increase in rental affordability compared with January-September 2025 was observed in Magadan Region (11.2 percentage points). The second region by the largest growth in the share of rental affordability was Krasnodar Territory, where it increased by 9.9 percentage points. As a result, Magadan Region rose 5 positions and in the current rating occupies 3rd place, while Krasnodar Territory is in 48th place (+18 positions). The growth in affordability in these regions is mainly linked to a significant increase in wages and a slight decrease in apartment rental costs.
Housing rental affordability in Russian regions is determined by the share of families that can rent a typical two-room apartment. It is assumed that the family has two adults and two children. 70% of the funds remaining after subtracting the subsistence minimums of adults and children from the family budget are spent by the family on housing rental, 30% on other expenses.
The share of families that can pay for a rented apartment and everyday expenses is calculated based on an estimate of the percentage distribution of workers by salary size in the region. Rental rates are taken for January-September 2026 and subsistence minimums are taken for 2026 individually for each federal subject.
*The rating was prepared on the order of the RIA Novosti agency by RIA Rating specialists.