Renting in Biggest U.S. Cities Unaffordable for Many

A new SmartAsset study evaluates how much household income is needed to rent a two-bedroom apartment in the 25 largest U.S. cities.

In the seven biggest cities studied, the average household needs to earn six figures, particularly to stay below the 30 percent rent-to-income ratio of being cost-burdened. The latest annual "Out of Reach" report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition finds that Americans working a 40-hour full-time work week, earning the federal $7.25 minimum wage cannot afford to rent a "modest" two-bedroom apartment in any state, Moneyish reports, explaining, "In other words, renters would need to work a 122-hour week for all 52 weeks of the year, or work three full-time jobs to afford a modest two-bedroom rental home."

San Francisco, Calif. is the most expensive city for renters on the list, where in order to avoid being so rent burdened, someone would need to make $188,000 per year. The average household income in the area is $103,801 per year. The numbers are similar for New York, the second least affordable place on the list, where New Yorkers would need to earn a minimum of $162,400 in order to pay no more than 28 percent of their income on a place in the Big Apple, where the average 2-bedroom apartment runs at $3,800 a month.

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