By Austin Cleghorn, investor-friendly Realtor in Toledo, Ohio. Updated October 2026 with Zillow Rentals (October 2), Redfin (August), the U.S. Census Bureau, HUD's FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, and Lucas Metropolitan Housing's 2026 payment standards. This report is updated periodically as new data is released.

If you are deciding whether to buy a rental in Toledo, you need more than a single "average rent" number pulled from one website. This Toledo rental market report brings together the most recent rent, home price, and household data from the sources investors and lenders actually use, explains why those sources disagree, and shows how to turn market-level numbers into property-level decisions.

Every figure below is cited with its source and date. Where sources measure different things, we say so. Market averages are not a substitute for comparable rentals near a specific property, but they tell you whether the market around that property is moving in your favor.

Toledo Rental Market at a Glance (October 2026)

Zillow also rates Toledo's rental market temperature as "warm," which it bases on renter demand compared with the national average, and notes that Toledo's average rent is about 48% below the national average. On the sales side, Redfin gives Toledo a Compete Score of 73 out of 100, which it labels "very competitive."

Average Rent in Toledo, OH by Bedroom (2026)

Rent rises with bedroom count, but not evenly. According to Zillow Rentals, these are Toledo's average rents across all property types as of September 2026:

Source: Zillow Rentals, Toledo, OH market trends, last updated September 21, 2026. Annual figures are monthly averages multiplied by 12.

Two things stand out for investors. First, the jump from two to three bedrooms is larger than the jump from one to two, which is one reason three-bedroom single-family homes are a common target for Toledo buy-and-hold investors. Second, Zillow reports a wide overall range, from $375 to $6,000 a month, so the average hides very different sub-markets. The listing distribution Zillow publishes clusters most heavily between roughly $700 and $1,300 a month.

Why Toledo Rent Numbers Differ by Source

Search "average rent in Toledo" and you will find numbers that seem to contradict each other. They usually are not wrong. They measure different things.

Here is how to read them:

• Asking rents run higher than paid rents. Listing data like Zillow's reflects what landlords are asking today. Census data includes tenants who have stayed in place for years at older rents, and it is a multi-year average, so it lags the current market.
• Apartments and houses are different markets. Rent.com's figures are based on apartment listings. Single-family rentals, which most small investors buy, often rent above comparable apartments.
• Gross rent includes utilities. Census and HUD figures include utility costs. Listing data usually shows the rent alone.
• HUD's figure is a percentile, not an average. Fair Market Rent is set at the 40th percentile of gross rents for recent movers across the whole metro area, which covers Lucas, Wood, and Fulton counties, not just the city.

The practical rule: use listing data to judge the current direction of the market, and use actual comparable rentals near the property to set your underwriting rent.

How Toledo Rents Have Changed Over the Past Year

Zillow's October 2, 2026 update shows Toledo's average rent up $70 year over year and down $30 from the prior month. Its month-by-month history shows 2026 running above 2025 in most months:

Source: Zillow Rentals monthly average rent history for Toledo, OH (all bedrooms, all property types), accessed September 2026. The September 2026 point reflects Zillow's monthly series and may differ slightly from its headline average.

The trend is upward but not in a straight line. May 2026 came in slightly below May 2025, and April dipped before recovering. That is normal month-to-month noise in listing data. For underwriting, the useful takeaway is direction rather than any single month: current asking rents are meaningfully higher than a year ago. Do not assume that pace continues. Underwrite with rents you can verify today.

Toledo Rents by Neighborhood and Nearby Suburbs

Citywide averages blend very different areas. Two sources give a sense of the spread.

Selected Toledo neighborhoods (apartment listings)

Rent.com publishes average one-bedroom apartment rents by neighborhood based on listings on its platform. Its 2026 data includes the following:

Source: Rent.com, Toledo rent trends, 2026. Figures reflect apartment listings on that platform and can shift with small sample sizes. They do not represent single-family house rents.

Nearby suburbs (all rentals)

Zillow's September 2026 data shows noticeably higher average rents in several nearby communities: Ottawa Hills at $1,695, Maumee at $1,532, Sylvania at $1,495, and Rossford at $1,250, compared with $1,050 for Toledo. Higher suburban rents usually come with higher purchase prices, so they do not automatically mean better returns.

Neighborhood-level rent is only half the picture. Price, property taxes, tenant demand, and property condition all vary by area. Our guide to Toledo neighborhood classes for investors explains how to compare areas beyond the rent number.

Toledo Home Prices: What Rentals Cost to Buy

According to Redfin, Toledo's housing market in August 2026 looked like this:

• Median sale price: $149,901, up 7.1% year over year.
• Homes sold: 902 in August, up 3.3% from a year earlier.
• Median days on market: 41, compared with 40 a year earlier.
• Sale-to-list ratio: 99.8%, with 47.5% of homes selling above list price.

Redfin notes that Toledo's median sale price is 61% lower than the national average, and describes the market as one where many homes get multiple offers. For investors, that combination matters: entry prices are low by national standards, but good properties do not sit for long, and nearly half of recent sales closed above asking.

You may also see a lower "median home value" for Toledo. The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 estimate of the median value of owner-occupied homes is $114,500. That figure is based on owner estimates across all owner-occupied homes over a five-year period, not recent sale prices, so it runs below current market data.

Rent-to-Price: What the Numbers Mean for Cash Flow

A quick way to compare markets is the gross rent-to-price ratio: annual rent divided by purchase price. Using the citywide figures above as a rough, market-level illustration:

Our calculation from the cited Zillow and Redfin figures. These are market-level ratios that combine two different sets of properties and are not a forecast for any individual home.

Treat these ratios carefully. The rent figure covers all rental listings, while the price figure covers all home sales, so they do not describe the same properties. Gross ratios also ignore property taxes, insurance, vacancy, maintenance, capital expenses, and management, which is where most deals are won or lost. What the ratio does tell you is that Toledo's rents are high relative to its prices compared with many higher-cost markets, which is the core of the cash-flow case. To turn that into a real answer for a specific property, run the full numbers using our Toledo real estate ROI guide or the BRRRR calculator.

Who Rents in Toledo: Demand Fundamentals

Rental demand depends on how many households rent and whether rents are affordable relative to local incomes. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the following for the City of Toledo:

Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Toledo city, Ohio (American Community Survey 2020-2024 and Vintage 2025 population estimates).

An owner-occupied rate of 53.3% means roughly 47% of occupied homes in Toledo are rented, a large renter base. As a rough affordability check, the median gross rent of $901 equals about 22% of the median household income on an annual basis. That is a simple ratio of two medians, not a measure of what any individual household pays, but it suggests typical rents are not stretched far beyond local incomes.

Buyer interest from outside the metro is also visible. Redfin's migration data for April to June 2026, which tracks where its users search for homes rather than actual moves, shows Detroit and Cleveland as the top metros whose homebuyers searched to move into Toledo.

Section 8 and the FY 2027 Fair Market Rents

For investors who rent to Housing Choice Voucher tenants, 2026 brings an important update. HUD published the FY 2027 Fair Market Rents on September 1, 2026. They take effect October 1, 2026, and housing agencies have three months to align their payment standards with the new figures.

Toledo voucher rent limits for 2026–2027

Sources: HUD FY 2027 FMR schedule, Toledo, OH MSA (Fulton, Lucas, and Wood counties); Lucas Metropolitan Housing payment standards.

For three- and four-bedroom homes, the voucher ceiling sits well above Zillow's average Toledo asking rents, which is why family-sized homes are popular voucher rentals. The payment standard caps gross rent (contract rent plus LMH's utility allowance), and every rent must pass LMH's rent reasonableness review, so the approved contract rent is often lower than the figures above.

• What FMR is. HUD defines Fair Market Rents as estimates of 40th percentile gross rents for standard-quality units. They are the starting point housing agencies use to set voucher payment standards.
• Who sets your ceiling. Lucas Metropolitan Housing sets the payment standards for Toledo voucher tenants. LMH states that a unit must meet HUD Housing Quality Standards and that the rent must fall within HUD Fair Market Rents and market-rate comparables.
• Lead-safe still applies. Voucher rentals built before 1978 inside Toledo also need a valid Lead-Safe Certificate. See our Toledo lead-safe ordinance guide.

Before underwriting a voucher rental, confirm the current payment standard and utility allowance for the unit size with LMH. Our guide to Section 8 investing in Toledo walks through the full process.

Risks and Headwinds to Watch

A useful market report covers the risks as clearly as the opportunities. These are the ones Toledo investors should build into their plans:

• Slow population decline. The Census Bureau estimates Toledo's population fell 2.8% from April 2020 to July 2025. Rising rents alongside a shrinking population suggest demand is concentrated in certain areas and property types, which makes location selection more important, not less.
• Older homes need bigger budgets. Older rentals typically need higher maintenance and capital expense reserves, and most rentals built before 1978 inside the city also need lead-safe certification before a new tenant moves in.
• Buyer competition. With 47.5% of August 2026 sales closing above list price, investors should expect competition for well-priced properties and avoid overpaying to win.
• Rent growth may not persist. The past year's increase is encouraging, but listing-based rent data can move quickly in either direction. Deals should work at today's verified rents.
• Data lag. Census and HUD figures are built from surveys that run a year or more behind the current market. Pair them with current listing and sales data, as this report does.

How to Use This Data When You Underwrite a Deal

Market data answers "is this a reasonable place to invest?" It does not answer "is this a good deal?" Here is how to move from one question to the other:

1. Start with market direction. Use this report to confirm rents and prices are moving in a direction you are comfortable with.
2. Pull property-level rent comps. Find current rentals of the same bedroom count, property type, and condition within a short distance of the property. Weight single-family comps for single-family houses.
3. Pull property-level sale comps. Recent sales of similar homes nearby tell you whether the asking price is supported.
4. Use real expenses. Confirm actual property taxes with our Lucas County real estate taxes guide, get a real landlord insurance quote, and budget for vacancy, repairs, capital expenses, and management.
5. Stress-test the rent. Check whether the deal still works if rent comes in below your estimate or the property sits vacant longer than planned.
6. Verify anything a seller tells you. If you are buying a turnkey property, our guide to vetting a Toledo turnkey provider shows how to check rent and renovation claims.

Investing from another state? Our out-of-state real estate investing guide covers how to build a local team to handle the parts you cannot do remotely.

FAQ: Toledo Rental Market 2026

Turn Market Data Into a Deal That Works

Toledo's 2026 numbers show rising rents, low entry prices, and a large renter base, alongside real risks that reward careful underwriting. The investors who do well here are the ones who pair market data with property-level verification.

Austin Cleghorn is an investor-friendly Realtor in Toledo with 4+ years in the market, 500+ properties sold, and a 6-year U.S. Army background. If you are evaluating a Toledo rental, he can help you pull comparable rents and sales and review the numbers before you make an offer.