Where Not to Rent in the U.S.

New analysis by Forbes shows that seven out of the 10 worst cities for renting are in California, with Los Angeles at the top of the heap. The share of income spent on rent in these cities is between 25 and 41 percent.

Supply and demand for renting and buying are out of whack, though experts are saying that renters in the markets ranked by Forbes may do well to consider buying a home, despite the cost hurdles to afford the purchase. Ralph DiBugnara, president of Home Qualified and vice president at Residential Home Funding explains, "rates are still low and even with home prices up, we are still in the most affordable buying market we have seen in almost 30 years," per Realtor.com. "Inevitably, if they don't buy, they may be priced out of the market with renting and/or buying, as interest rates continue to go up."

"It is fundamentally a problem of supply and demand," says David Reiss, research director at the Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship at Brooklyn Law School. "Certain urban centers like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York are magnets for people and businesses. At the same time, restrictive local land use regulations keep new housing construction at very low levels. Unless those constraints are loosened, cities will face housing shortages and high rents despite any affordable housing programs and rent regulation regimes implemented."

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