How Much Space Can I Afford to Rent with My Salary?

We’ve made it easy to calculate how much rent you can afford to pay each month using our rent calculator (which helps you consider monthly income, as well as recurring bills like credit card and student loan payments and other monthly expenses). With this article, we take it a step further. Now, we’re seeking to help you answer the question: How much space can I get with that number?

We calculated how much space you can afford to rent in the largest cities in the U.S. at different salaries, using the general rule of thumb that one should not spend over 30% of their gross income on rent to define “affordability.” To learn more about what size apartment you can afford to rent in your city, read on.

How much space you’ll be able to rent will, as always, depend on your city and its rental market. We break down what you can expect to afford on a $50K a year salary if you are not splitting rent with any roommates. This does not take into account other living expenses like utility costs, renters insurance, or the general cost of living of a city. 

Looking at our data for the median cost per square foot of the largest U.S. cities, we discovered that there are cities across the U.S. where you can afford a median-sized two-bedroom apartment while earning an annual gross salary of $50,000.

The Midwest

The Southwest

Where Else?

If you are earning $50K per year annually, you can afford a one-bedroom apartment in all of the same cities where you can afford a two-bedroom apartment (as explained in the section above). However, there are a also few additional cities where you would be able to rent a one-bedroom apartment on this salary:

If you are looking at studio apartments rather than one- or two-bedroom apartments, then Las Vegas, NV is the only additional city where you’ll be able to comfortably rent an apartment of the median area alone on a $50K annual salary. With a median cost per square foot of $1.84 for a studio apartment, you’d be able to rent up to 679 square feet. While the median area of a studio apartment in Las Vegas is 682, you’d likely still be able to find a studio around the median size within your budget.

As mentioned above, for housing to be considered “affordable,” one must not be spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs. However, depending on your financial situation, this may not be feasible without one or multiple roommates in many competitive rental markets. If you plan on spending more than 30% of your gross income on your rent budget, make sure to take into account other expenses associated with moving to a new apartment. For example, make sure you will be able to afford to pay for first and last month’s rent payments, as well as a security deposit, upfront. Also factor in how your rent to income ratio will affect the rest of your monthly budget: Will you be able to pay for your transportation costs or car payments? What about non-essentials, like entertainment costs?

To figure out exactly how much you should be paying in rent, use our Rent Calculator.

Didn’t see your city above? In the below report, we highlight how much space you can afford to rent in 51 of the largest cities by population in the U.S., for which we had adequate inventory, at three different salaries.

Our calculations below are based on the median cost per square foot for a one-bedroom apartment. Keep in mind, there are opportunities to find apartments in the lower or higher price ranges. You can also reduce the expected costs of monthly rent by moving in a roommate or partner. In that case, calculate the combined income of all co-applicants to determine what you can collectively afford. Want even more specific guidance? Use our rent calculator.

If you want more guidelines on rent prices as you go apartment hunting, start your apartment search here. At ApartmentAdvisor, we give every listing a deal rating to let you know if an apartment is fairly priced for the market.