What Income is Needed to Make Rent in America’s Largest Cities?

SmartAsset found the income needed to afford a median-priced two-bedroom apartment in the 25 largest U.S. cities.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses a threshold of 30% to determine whether housing is affordable. In other words, housing is considered affordable if you spend less than 30% of household income on housing costs. If you spend more than 30% of your income on housing, you are considered housing cost-burdened. If you spend more than 50% of your income on housing, you are considered severely housing cost-burdened.

In general, the median income in a city is not enough for the average person to avoid being housing cost-burdened. Each of the top 10 cities on our list has a median income that is less than the income needed to pay 28% or less of your income in rent.

Renters in San Francisco, the most expensive market, need to earn $196,843 to avoid being cost-burdened by a median two-bedroom apartment. New York ($162,857 income needed), Washington, D.C. ($132,857), San Jose ($132,343), and Los Angeles ($128,571) also had high costs.

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