The Bottom Line for Renters

In nine U.S. states and in the District of Columbia, renters need to earn more than $5,500 per month to afford the average rental price, according to analysis by HowMuch.net of Zillow data.

Washington, D.C. required the most monthly income in the study, $8,487. California is not far behind, and is the only other state requiring more than $8,000 in monthly income, $8,313. By contrast, the cheapest states were Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Mississippi, with required monthly income ranging between $3,117 in Oklahoma and $3,493 in Mississippi. There was no data available for North Dakota and Vermont, CNBC reports.

The average millennial earns just over $684 a week, or $2,736 a month, according to financial website SmartAsset, which pulled data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But in some of the country's more popular states, that income won't get you very far in terms of renting a place to live ... Wherever you fall on the map, living within your means and employing some common-sense budgeting techniques can help you save in the long run.

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