Report: Average Renter in Much of U.S. Needs $100,000 Salary
Average Renter in Much of U.S. Needs $100,000 Salary
The average renter in 11 U.S. markets must make a six-figure annual salary to avoid being classified as rent-burdened, according to a new report from researchers at Florida Atlantic University and two other schools.
At the end of April, the largest salary needed to dodge the rent-burdened label is $131,563 in San Jose, California. The average renter also needed to make at least $100,000 a year in New York; Miami; San Francisco; San Diego; Oxnard, Calif; Boston; Los Angeles; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Honolulu; and Riverside, California.
Consumers who are considered rent-burdened spend 30 percent or more of their incomes on rent and therefore struggle to pay for other necessities, such as food and medication. Those who spend 50 percent or more are severely rent-burdened.
“Not a lot of people make that kind of money,” said Ken H. Johnson, Ph.D., an economist in FAU’s College of Business. “This data illustrates perfectly what we’ve been saying about an ongoing housing affordability crisis. Rents aren’t coming down significantly, if at all, so until incomes increase sharply, consumers in much of the country will continue to do without basic needs.”
To avoid being rent-burdened, the average U.S. renter needs to make nearly $81,000 a year, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the least rent-burdened market is Wichita, Kansas, where the average renter needs to make just less than $40,000. McAllen, Texas is the next least rent-burdened area, requiring an annual salary of less than $48,000.
Johnson and fellow researchers Shelton Weeks, Ph.D., of Florida Gulf Coast University, and Bennie Waller, Ph.D., of The University of Alabama, recently added the rent-burdened metric to their monthly analysis of the most overvalued U.S. rental markets. They use leasing data from Zillow’s Observed Rental Index to determine existing rents and statistically model historical trends from 2014. The Waller, Weeks and Johnson Rental Index covers the entire rental stock of homes and apartments.
The latest report shows that Florida continues to dominate the list of the most overpriced markets, with Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Miami, North Port-Bradenton and Deltona all ranked in the Top 10.
Three U.S. markets (Cape Coral-Fort Myers; Charleston, South Carolina; and Madison, Wisconsin) all experienced double-digit, year-over-year rent increases.
Only seven markets posted month-over-month rent declines: Fresno, California; North Port-Bradenton; Stockton, California; Akron, Ohio; Albany, New York; New Haven, Connecticut and Tulsa, Oklahoma. The full rankings can be found here.
“In the past, the nation has dealt with unaffordable housing in the short run by moving in together,” Waller said. “This is what seems most likely once again.”
Weeks said it’s essential to build more rentals to keep pace with household formation and demographic shifts across the country.
“But until then,” he said, “the rent crisis will be most persistent in the Sun Belt states as they gain significantly in population.”
-FAU-
Latest News Desk
- FAU's Cheryl A. Krause-Parello, Ph.D., Awarded Fulbright U.S. ScholarCheryl A. Krause-Parello, Ph.D., received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to study Germany's research and education systems in the academic year 2025-26, focusing on funding and university support for research.
- BEPI Poll: Hispanic Economic Optimism FallsHispanic consumers are spending less as optimism about their economic outlook dwindles amid inflation and economic uncertainty, according to a poll from the Business & Economics Polling Initiative at FAU.
- FAU Receives $1M Grant to Study Gulf's Mesophotic Coral HabitatsFAU Harbor Branch researchers and collaborators will study how ocean currents and river nutrients affect deep coral ecosystems on the West Florida Shelf - one of the gulf's largest and least-studied habitats.
- Survey: Tariff Uncertainty Worries Port Everglades BusinessesThe Port Everglades business ecosystem is facing a year of labor challenges and growing concerns over tariff uncertainty, according to a survey from a supply chain management professor at FAU.
- AI Reveals Astrocytes Play a 'Starring' Role in Dynamic Brain FunctionA new FAU study shows astrocytes help neurons fire in sync, shaping brain rhythms key for attention, memory and sleep - guiding how groups of neurons work together during high-focus or restful states.
- FAU Foundation Board Welcomes New MembersFlorida Atlantic University's Foundation Board of Directors welcomed Zachary "Zach" Berg '97, '00, Michael Yoon '96 and Thomas "Tommy" Zeichman '09 to its board.