Rental website RentHop has updated its list of the least affordable cities for singles — that is, people living on their own with no roommates.
The site analyzed the median rent for studio apartments in metros across the United States in 2021 and 2022, then compared those numbers to the average income of singles in those cities. Of the 50 cities analyzed, Houston ranked sixth overall (up three spots from last year’s report).
The average rent for a studio apartment in Houston increased by 3.5% from 2021 to 2022, with the median cost in 2022 equaling $1,500 per month. The average income for singles in Houston is $63,521 — meaning rent in Houston takes up 28.3% of the average single’s income.
Leading the list is New York, where rent costs equal approximately 43.9% of the average income. Conversely, the most affordable city in the country is Albuquerque, New Mexico, where a $700 studio apartment only makes up about 15.3% of a single person’s income.