Housing is gradually becoming more affordable for younger generations, particularly recent college graduates. According to housing market platform Redfin, the typical recent U.S. college graduate would now spend 20.6% of their income on renting a median-priced two-bedroom apartment with a roommate, which is down from the 22.6% of their income recorded last year. Similarly, the cost of renting a studio or one-bedroom apartment has dropped, with grads spending 35.7% of their income, compared with 39% in 2023.
Even in cities with high costs of living—such as San Jose, Calif., San Francisco, and Sacramento, Calif.— affordability has improved, with rent costs dropping below the 30% threshold. Austin, Texas, has seen the most significant improvement in affordability, with grads now spending 28.3% of their income to live alone, down from 35.2% the previous year.
The typical recent college grad in San Jose makes an estimated $108,499—the highest among the metros Redfin analyzed. And the median 2 bedroom asking rent in San Jose fell 1.8% year over year, helping college grads become unburdened by rent. The story is similar in San Francisco, which has the second highest salary for recent grads ($84,388) and saw one of the steepest declines in asking rents (-6.7%).