Here’s how much money you need to afford rent in the 15 most expensive U.S. cities

If you want to rent an average-priced apartment in the most expensive U.S. cities, you will have to earn more than most Americans.

According to a study by Apartment Guide, the cost of housing in half of the 50 most-populated cities in the US is too much for most people to afford. A rule of thumb recommended by personal finance experts is that rent should only make up 30% of a household budget.

You need to keep rental costs at 30% of your income in order to be ranked the most expensive city.

Rent prices in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco have gone up since last year.

The cost of rent in New York City is so high that only 30% of the budget is spent on rent. According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, the annual median income for a household is $65,994.

Rent costs in the 10 most expensive cities would have to be kept at 30% by eight of them.

Smaller cities in the middle of the country tend to have less expensive rent than large coastal cities. In order to make up 30% of their budget, residents of the lowest-ranked city need to make almost $30,000 a year.

People in large, expensive cities tend to earn more money than people in states where both income and housing costs are low.

The apartment guide has a rental property inventory for one- and two-bedroom units from July 2021. Rent prices are based on how many units are available.

Due to a small number of high earning renters paying well above the median price, rental prices will skew higher than what most people pay.

Current US Census Bureau population estimates are used to calculate the top 50 cities.

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