Nearly half of Americans who rent are spending more on housing than they can afford , according to a report released this week. But its still possible to find affordable living in a thriving city -- if youre willing to move to Des Moines, Iowa.

That might sound like a ridiculous suggestion to anyone who lives outside the Midwest. But consider how grim the rental real estate market looks, basically everywhere else:

There are more renters than any time since the 1960s, spanning all demographics, according to the Harvard Universitys Joint Center for Housing Studies' biennial "America's Rental Housing" report . Last year, 49 percent were cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30 percent of income on housing, the threshold for what's considered affordable. Thats down from 2011s record high of 51 percent, but up slightly from 2013.

More renters have led to a tighter market, pushing vacancy rates down and rents up, while incomes for many haven't grown. The report's forecast for the future isn't promising: Researchers write that rent increases outpacing income growth have led to the huge number of renters paying too much for housing, with little prospect for meaningful improvement.