Pius Lee/ShutterstockFour cities in California made the list.
- SmartAsset found what income is needed to comfortably afford rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the 25 largest US cities.
- The study calculated how much a renter would need to earn to spend no more than 28% of their annual income on rent.
- In eight cities, renters need to earn more than $US100,000.
Rent for the average two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco, California, is more than double the cost of rent in Denver, Colorado.
It’s clear that depending on where in the United States you live, rent may take up a larger portion of your income.
SmartAsset found what income you need to comfortably afford the rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the 25 largest cities, by population, across the country.
Comfortably, in this case, means spending no more than 28% of your annual salary on rent. The data on average two-bedroom apartment costs came from Zillow and is from April 2019.
Read more: Here’s how much it costs to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the 49 largest US cities
To be clear, 28% is just a benchmark and is actually lower than the 30% budget many experts recommend. In some cities with expensive housing markets, that figure can be unavoidably higher – though you can cut costs by pairing up with a roommate and splitting the rent.
Keep reading to see how much a two-bedroom apartment costs in the 25 largest US cities, ranked from the lowest to the highest annual income you’ll need (before taxes) to comfortably afford that rent in each.
25. Memphis, Tennessee
ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US814
Annual income needed: $US34,886
24. Detroit, Michigan
Kemboslice/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US831
Annual income needed: $US35,614
23. El Paso, Texas
cht725/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US875
Annual income needed: $US37,500
22. Indianapolis, Indiana
Average two-bedroom rent: $US915
Annual income needed: $US39,214
21. Columbus, Ohio
f11photo/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US1,050
Annual income needed: $US45,000
20. San Antonio, Texas
cheng cheng/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US1,229
Annual income needed: $US52,671
19. Phoenix, Arizona
Sean Pavone/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US1,250
Annual income needed: $US53,571
18. Jacksonville, Florida
Paul Brennan/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US1,279
Annual income needed: $US54,793
17. Nashville, Tennessee
f11photo/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US1,500
Annual income needed: $US64,286
16. Houston, Texas
f11photo/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US1,525
Annual income needed: $US65,357
15. Charlotte, North Carolina
digidreamgrafix/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US1,526
Annual income needed: $US65,400
14. Fort Worth, Texas
Philip Lange/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US1,600
Annual income needed: $US68,571
T14. Austin, Texas
f11photo/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US1,600
Annual income needed: $US68,571
12. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US1,691
Annual income needed: $US72,450
11. Dallas, Texas
Average two-bedroom rent: $US1,850
Annual income needed: $US79,286
10. Chicago, Illinois
Average two-bedroom rent: $US1,895
Annual income needed: $US81,214
9. Denver, Colorado
EdgeOfReason/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US2,151
Annual income needed: $US92,164
8. San Diego, California
Average two-bedroom rent: $US2,477
Annual income needed: $US106,136
7. Boston, Massachusetts
Sean Pavone/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US2,500
Annual income needed: $US107,143
6. Seattle, Washington
Asif Islam/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US2,753
Annual income needed: $US117,986
5. Los Angeles, California
Melpomene/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US3,000
Annual income needed: $US128,571
4. San Jose, California
Sundry Photography/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US3,088
Annual income needed: $US132,343
3. Washington, DC
Jon Bilous/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US3,100
Annual income needed: $US132,857
2. New York, New York (Manhattan only)
Average two-bedroom rent (Manhattan only): $US3,800
Annual income needed: $US162,857
1. San Francisco, California
Sergey Novikov/ShutterstockAverage two-bedroom rent: $US4,593
Annual income needed: $US196,843
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