The salary you need to comfortably rent in the 15 most expensive places in the U.S.

 

Mike Winters@MIKE_WINTRS

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You’d have to make at least double what most Americans earn to rent a home in large cities such as San Francisco and New York, a new analysis reveals.

Based on average rent costs in the 15 most expensive metro areas, Moody’s Analytics determined the annual income needed to “comfortably” rent any type of home. The study defines “comfortable” as needing only 30% of your income to cover housing costs, as is commonly recommended by financial experts.

The most expensive city to be a renter is New York City, with an average rent of $4,122, according to Moody’s data, which looks at all sizes of rental units.

To afford that, a renter would need to earn $164,870 a year, nearly triple the $59,228 annual median salary that full-time workers make, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Rent prices have soared nearly 19% since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, according to Moody’s. However, prices have cooled off recently amid a construction boom in rental units, with average prices largely the same as a year ago.

With rising home and rent prices, spending only 30% of your income on housing has become increasingly unrealistic — especially in the biggest U.S. cities. However, some of the higher costs are offset by median incomes that tend to be $10,000 to $20,000 higher than the U.S. median in these cities.

Here’s a look at the most expensive areas in the U.S., as ranked by the income needed to comfortably afford a rental.

1. New York City

• Average rent: $4,122  
• Income needed to live comfortably: $164,870 

2. San Francisco

• Average rent: $3,139
• Income needed to live comfortably: $125,545 

3. San Jose  

• Average rent: $3,012
• Income needed to live comfortably: $120,486 

4. Westchester, New York

• Average rent: $2,945 
• Income needed to live comfortably: $117,804 

5. Boston  

• Average rent: $2,938  
• Income needed to live comfortably: $117,517 

6. Oakland-East Bay, California  

• Average rent: $2,659 
• Income needed to live comfortably: $106,377 

7. Long Island, New York

• Average rent: $2,521 
• Income needed to live comfortably: $100,857 

8. Northern New Jersey

• Average rent: $2,477 
• Income needed to live comfortably: $99,084 

9. Orange County, California

• Average rent: $2,472
• Income needed to live comfortably:  $98,861 

10. Fairfield County, Connecticut

• Average rent: $2,441 
• Income needed to live comfortably: $97,636 

11. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California

• Average rent: $2,393
• Income needed to live comfortably:  $95,704 

12. Los Angeles

• Average rent: $2,376
• Income needed to live comfortably:  $95,038 

13. San Diego  

• Average rent: $2,355 
• Income needed to live comfortably: $94,201 

14. Miami

• Average rent: $2,241 
• Income needed to live comfortably: $89,658 

15. Seattle  

• Average rent: $2,240
• Income needed to live comfortably: $89,607

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