Affordability for renters appears to have improved month-over-month. According to housing market platform Zillow, as of September 2024, the median U.S. rental household spends about 30% of its income on rent. This is typically the threshold for affordability, and anything over this can be difficult to afford. While the income needed to comfortably afford typical U.S. rent has risen 17.6% since September 2021 to $81,995, wages have grown at a similar pace, keeping rental affordability stable. In September, the average asking rent was $2,050. For single-family homes, rents averaged $2,245, up 0.1% month-over-month and 4.3% year-over-year. Multifamily rents averaged $1,895, down 0.1% month-over-month, but 2.5% higher than last year.
However, rent growth is cooling nationally (3.3%), bringing rental affordability back down to earth in many markets. Only eight major markets have maintained rental affordability levels above 30%: Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Tampa, Orlando, and Boston.
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