Yahoo Finance Rent Prices: The 25 Most Unaffordable Cities in America
Of the expenses that eat the most of your income, housing costs are typically among the biggest.
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While it’s no secret that home prices have increased steeply in the past few years, the cost to rent in America is also becoming more challenging. According to a National Association of Realtors report, rent was still on the rise in March 2024.
In some cities, the price of rent has become so expensive as to be unaffordable for the average American. For example, in many California cities, which dominate this list, the average price of a 1-bedroom rental is double or more the cost of the national average, which is $1,226.
If you think rent is high where you live, check out the cost to rent in these 25 cities.
San Jose, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,429
Average 2 bedroom rent: $2,882
Average rent overall: $2,792
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Contra Costa, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,693
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,261
Average rent overall: $2,797
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Chino Hills, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,396
Average 2 bedroom rent: $2,611
Average rent overall: $2,835
Thousand Oaks, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,396
Average 2 bedroom rent: $2,611
Average rent overall: $2,835
Daly City, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,535
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,121
Average rent overall: $2,847
San Bruno, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,447
Average 2 bedroom rent: $2,968
Average rent overall: $2,867
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South San Francisco
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,369
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,105
Average rent overall: $2,873
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,645
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,204
Average rent overall: $2,913
Mission Viejo, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,336
Average 2 bedroom rent: $2,810
Average rent overall: $2,915
Aliso Viejo, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,557
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,019
Average rent overall: $2,925
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Emeryville, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,846
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,436
Average rent overall: $2,937
Mountain View, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,699
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,282
Average rent overall: $2,944
Milpitas, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,661
Average 2 bedroom rent: $2,949
Average rent overall: $2,952
Irvine, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,511
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,079
Average rent overall: $2,959
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Sammamish, Washington
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,389
Average 2 bedroom rent: $2,638
Average rent overall: $2,972
Santa Clara, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,740
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,140
Average rent overall: $3,014
Redwood City, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,693
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,411
Average rent overall: $3,035
Sunnyvale, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,758
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,236
Average rent overall: $3,048
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Laguna Niguel, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,688
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,051
Average rent overall: $3,094
Dublin, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,681
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,104
Average rent overall: $3,130
Lake Forest, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,697
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,221
Average rent overall: $3,140
San Mateo, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,815
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,526
Average rent overall: $3,178
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Newport Beach, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,677
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,324
Average rent overall: $3,210
Calabasas, California
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,899
Average 2 bedroom rent: $3,189
Average rent overall: $3,252
Hoboken, New Jersey
Average 1 bedroom rent: $2,931
Average 2 bedroom rent: $4,034
Average rent overall: $3,451
Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology: To find the most unaffordable cities to rent in, GOBankingRates first used ApartmentList data to find (1) average 2022 1-bedroom rents. GOBankingRates then used (2) Sperling’s Best to find cities’ overall cost of living index. Next, For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed average rental costs for cities across the country to find the places with the highest rental costs. Using the average rental costs, as sourced from ApartmentList data from April 2024, the average overall rental cost, the average 1 bedroom rental cost, and the average 2 bedroom rental costs were found for each city. The top 25 most expensive cities were kept to find the most expensive cities for rent. For each city the livability index was included as supplemental information. All data was collected on and is up-to-date as-of May 2, 2024.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Rent Prices: The 25 Most Unaffordable Cities in America
