Everyone who lives in L.A. knows how painful it can be to sign that rent check every month. Now a study backs up that feeling that you're paying far more than most people in the U.S..
According to a new study from Smartassest, there are fifteen cities in the U.S. where you need to earn at least $100,000 to comfortably afford an average two-bedroom apartment. Ten of those cities are right here in California.
Yay us.
The data, taken from RentCafe, was analyzed and sorted by SmartAsset and compared to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s affordability threshold.
Los Angeles comes in at fourth on the list, with the study showing that people need to earn around $109,543 per year to pay for an average two-bedroom apartment. With median income in Los Angeles hovering around $28,000 per year, rent is a much higher slice of people's paychecks than other parts of the nation making the ritual of paying rent every month much more painful for Angelenos.
To no one's surprise, San Francisco ranks number one with people needing to make $179,529 to rent something nice up in the Bay Area (good thing tech pays well). New York City looks like a bargain comparatively speaking as you can get away with making $164,614 and rent a two-bedroom there.
If you're tired of high rents and can afford to move, the Midwest can offer some spectacular places to rent for cheap. SmartAssest cites Toledo, Ohio as an example where a person can afford an average two-bedroom apartment by earning under $29,000 per year. If you're looking to stay in Southern California, places inland and away from the coast (like Riverside) seems like a good bet. You only need to make around $61,000 to afford an average two-bedroom in the Inland Empire.
The report assumes people spending around 30 percent of their income on housing which is the federal threshold for rent being "cost burdened," meaning that's the amount of money people can spend on rent and still have enough left over for non-discretionary spending.