Are Rents Affordable in Any Big Cities?
Landlords are certainly happy that rents have increased in most major American housing markets. The problem is that many cities that were considered fairly affordable before are heading towards an affordable housing problem. This problem isn’t just in traditionally expensive cities like NYC and San Francisco, but it’s expanding to cities like Dallas and Seattle, where rents are rising very rapidly. If you’d like a reference for the least affordable US cities, you can check out this recent report.
Obviously, some of you don’t want to consider alternative housing ideas; you want to rent an apartment or house for an affordable rent payment! Well, if you can move, you might consider some US cities with surprisingly affordable rents.
Big Cities in the USA With Affordable Average Rents
Certainly, there are many small towns and even suburban areas where people with modest incomes can find refuge from rent increases. However, there are also some major markets where rents and rent increases have remained fairly modest.
This list of big US cities with affordable rents might help:
- Toledo
- Cincinnati
- Fort Wayne
- Cleveland
- Buffalo
As a note, this list only included cities with at least 250,000 residents. It also include basic utilities, but it didn’t include bills like cable TV, the internet, or the phone. Basically, it’s a snapshot of the cost of having an apartment with heat, AC, and lights.
Three of these are cities in Ohio. Another Midwest city, Fort Wayne, made the list. New Yorkers might look upstate towards Buffalo. Buffalo really stands out because average rents in the State of New York are higher than the national average, but this city is lower. Certainly, Manhattan rents skew the state average. In the other states, average rents across the state were also lower than average.
Incomes vs. Rents in Major Rental Markets
Certainly, this list doesn’t tell the whole story because it doesn’t really have any information about average incomes. Obviously, lots of folks would pay higher rents for a chance to make more money. Average incomes in many cities that can offer cheaper rents are usually modest, but this list is based upon affordability. Incomes were accounted for.
On the other hand, people who aren’t tied to a particular location for income or who are retired might consider relocating to cities where pleasant apartments are available for less. This list might be more useful for freelancers, startup business founders, retirees, and other people who don’t really depend on a certain location for their income. In any case, it’s just a tip that moving to a more affordable city might be an alternative to other methods of reducing the cost of housing.
