The U.S. cities where renting an apartment is the most unaffordable

Start Slideshow

Apartment — Photo: Alexander Spatari (Getty Images)

It’s not just home buying: Today, even renting is becoming increasingly unaffordable in major U.S. cities.

The typical U.S. renter household makes an estimated $54,712 per year, which is 17.3% less than the $66,120 a household has to earn to afford monthly rent for a median-priced U.S. apartment with a rent of $1,653 per month, a recent report by real estate firm Redfin found.

The company analyzed median U.S. apartment asking rents as of the three months ending May 31 and estimated median incomes for renter households. It found that just 39% of renters across the country make enough money to afford a median-priced apartment.

Click through to see the 5 U.S. cities that have the biggest gaps between the income needed to afford a typical apartment and what people actually earn in those cities.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

2 / 7

New York, N.Y.

New York, New York — Highrise buildings in Midtown Manhattan, New York.

Renters looking to snag an apartment in New York City need to make an estimated $119,120, while the median renter household income is just $67,358. That means the typical renter makes 43.5% less than what they need to afford a median-priced ($2,978) apartment in the city — the biggest gap across the 33 major metros analyzed by Redfin.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

3 / 7

Miami, Fla.

In Miami, the typical renter makes an estimated $57,471 per year. That’s 42.2% less than the $99,440 annual income required to afford a median-priced apartment.

The median asking rent in Miami is $2,486.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

4 / 7

Boston, Mass.

Boston renters require an income of $113,400 to afford a median-priced apartment of $2,835, but a typical renter makes just $69,493 — a 38.7% gap, according to Redfin.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

5 / 7

Los Angeles, Calif.

Angelenos on the hunt for a typical apartment need to earn $112,440. The estimated median renter household income is $71,853, missing the mark by 36.1%. Median asking rent in Los Angeles comes in at $2,811.

Previous Slide

Next Slide

6 / 7

Riverside, Calif.

And in Riverside, renters need to earn $92,480 to afford a median-priced apartment, which is priced at $2,312. The estimated median household income, however, is $64,016, which falls short of the required income by 30.8%.

The 5 cities in America where renting an apartment is the most unaffordable

The 5 cities in America where renting an apartment is the most unaffordable

Redfin found that just 39% of U.S. renters make enough money to afford a median-priced apartment

New York, N.Y.

New York, N.Y.

Miami, Fla.

Miami, Fla.

Boston, Mass.

Boston, Mass.

Los Angeles, Calif.

Los Angeles, Calif.

Riverside, Calif.

Riverside, Calif.