Being single has lots of perks: There’s a greater degree of independence; more time to invest in friendships, hobbies, and careers; and the ability to make decisions based solely on one’s individual interests and desires.
One major downside of being single, however, is the cost of living on your own. Happy couples can split the cost of their monthly rent down the middle, but the happily alone are stuck paying full price or living with roommates.
While most singles suffer from disproportionate housing costs, this inequality becomes even starker when taking gender into account. Despite making significant advances in the workforce, American women still earn an average of just 82 cents for every dollar earned by American men. While women make less money, they still pay the same rent as their male counterparts, leading to a disproportionate financial burden in the cost of housing.
In El Paso, Texas — where the rent burden gap between men and women is the highest — a single woman will spend an average of 34.99% of her income on housing, while a single man will spend 19.38% of his, according to an analysis by the apartment search website Renthop.
In New York, the most expensive city for singles, the average single woman has to allocate 76.53% of her annual income on housing, while her male counterparts 57.9% of their income on rent.
Despite this burden, more Americans are living alone than ever before. In 2021, 15% percent of adults lived by themselves, while 28% of American households consisted of just one person — a 15% increase from the 1960s.
If you’re one of the 37 million Americans living alone, some cities are far more desirable than others. Renthop recently released a report revealing the cheapest cities for single Americans to rent a studio apartment.
Click through to see the five best cities for single renters in America.
