Where Are the Least Affordable Metros for Renters?

Big cities on the coasts are commonly held to have the least affordable housing markets, but new analysis of rental affordability shows that metros located elsewhere are even less affordable.

According to data from 2017 for metros with populations of 1 million people or more, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. metro was found to be least affordable for renting, with the median gross rent, $1,316, accounting for 36.9 percent of household income. The next U.S. metro on the Bloomberg Opinion ranking is New Orleans-Metairie, La. has a median gross rent of $965, taking up a 34.4 percent share of household income.

Recently the National Association of Realtors has shifted to an affordability distribution score that measures the percentage of for-sale homes in an area that a family with a median income can afford: In that, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area ... was least affordable as of September, with neighboring San Diego-Carlsbad and Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura in second and third, San Jose fourth, and San Francisco and Honolulu tied for fifth.

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