rising rent sucks
This is how much income a San Antonio resident needs to afford rent in the city
If there's one thing nearly all renters can all agree on, it's the collective disdain for rising rent prices. Every year is an ongoing battle for affordability.
But luckily for San Antonio renters, they live in one of the most affordable cities in the United States. San Antonio has an average rent price that's much lower than the nearly $2,000 national average, and a lower-than-average annual income necessary to afford it. That's according to a recent income-to-rent study by business experts Chamber of Commerce.
The median annual income of a San Antonio resident is $44,167, the study says, which is $2,207 higher than what they would need to earn to afford the rent for a one bedroom apartment. A local would only need to make $41,960 a year to afford the median monthly rent, which amounts to $1,049.
San Antonio is not within the top 30 places with highest rents or income-rent gaps on the overall list of 120 U.S. cities.
The study used a 30 percent income-to-rent ratio to determine what a resident would need to make to afford their rent without using more than that generally recommended amount of their income.
The study's findings speak to a bigger problem of housing affordability and availability around the nation.
"Factors such as a lack of housing inventory and high mortgage rates have driven up rental costs across the country, which has left renters with limited options when it comes to finding affordable housing," the study's author said.
Elsewhere in Texas, someone living in Austin would need to make $63,800 a year to afford the $1,595 median monthly rent for their one bedroom apartment. Austin has the highest rent price out of all Texas cities listed in the study, but still does not crack the top 30.
In comparison, the study says, New York City has the highest rent in the country. Median rent costs $3,495 a month for a one-bedroom apartment, meaning that a New Yorker would need to make nearly $140,000 a year to afford it. According to the study's data, a New Yorker's median income sits at $65,317. But Miami has a larger gap, needing to make $120,000 instead of the actual median of $41,287.
Unsurprisingly, California cities dominate the top 10 most expensive cities on the list.
The top 10 cities with the highest incomes needed to afford rent are:
- No. 1 – New York City, New York
- No. 2 – Miami, Florida
- No. 3 – San Francisco, California
- No. 4 – Irvine, California
- No. 5 – Boston, Massachusetts
- No. 6 – Jersey City, New Jersey
- No. 7 – San Diego, California
- No. 8 – Fremont, California
- No. 9 – San Jose, California
- No. 10 – Santa Clarita, California
Data for Chamber of Commerce's study was found using the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Zillow, and Zumper.