Many of the growing number of renters would like to know where their real estate budget stretches the furthest. A new study from RentCafe attempts to answer this question by comparing average rent and the cost of utilities, groceries, healthcare, transportation and other essential goods and services in various U.S. metropolitan areas.
Generally, it is higher incomes, not lower rents, that define value ranges. So don't expect a list of places with the cheapest rents. This is because the study measures financial burden based on the median household income of renters in each area. In many expensive areas, incomes are so high that a smaller proportion is spent on rent and essential living expenses compared to less expensive areas. (Household income was taken from the Census Bureau; the Cost of Living Index was used to determine the cost of living, and the Yardi Matrix was the source of average rents.)
Sunnyvale, California, with an average renter income of nearly $150,000, proved to be the least burdensome for local renters despite its high average rent of over $3,000 per month. Many other attractive locations for renters were in expensive metropolises or their suburbs. The full rankings show predominantly affluent and middle-class areas, with an average household income of about $98,000 (about twice the national average).
There were exceptions, including Lawton, Oklahoma, about an hour and a half from Oklahoma City. At number 15, it had the lowest average rent on the list, just $830 per month, and an average income of about $43,000, which is below the national average income of about $49,000.
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