The Salary Needed To Afford Rent in America’s 50 Largest Cities

One popular rule of thumb says your rent should be about 30% of your gross income. But how realistic is that number if you’re living in any of America’s 50 largest cities? Renters don’t want to use up all of their salaries on housing, but the costs can be intimidating.

Even though the average rent began to soften in 2023, the costs of living and average salaries in large cities have not made significant improvements for renters. In most of the cities with larger populations, their demand and supply for housing has increased the cost of rentals, further pushing the amount of salary Americans need to comfortably afford housing in those cities.

In this new study, GOBankingRates provides data on exactly how much salary you need to afford the average rent in America’s largest cities. This will provide more context for the salary range you’ll need to cover living in your location. Especially if you’re considering moving cities, it’s a good move to compare rent prices against your salary and be sure you can afford the rent.

Now, how much exactly do you need?

• Total Population: 8,622,467
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $3,429
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $41,152
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $137,173

• Total Population: 665,945
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $3,266
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $39,188
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $130,627

• Total Population: 851,036 
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $3,259
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $39,104
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $130,347

• Total Population: 1,001,176
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $3,117
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $37,408
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $124,693

• Total Population: 443,665
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $3,102
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $37,225
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $124,083

• Total Population: 1,383,987
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $2,986
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $35,829
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $119,431

• Total Population: 3,881,041
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $ 2,790
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $33,485
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $111,617

• Total Population: 437,825
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $ 2,504
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $30,053
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $100,177

• Total Population: 670,587
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $2,432
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $29,182
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $97,272

• Total Population: 462,293
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $2,248
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $26,976
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $89,922

• Total Population: 734,603
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $2,189
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $26,265
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $87,550

• Total Population: 2,721,914
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $2,107
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $25,278
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $84,260

• Total Population: 523,600
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $2,073
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $24,879
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $82,930

• Total Population: 710,800
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,974
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $23,691
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $78,969

• Total Population: 494,838
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,942
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $23,301
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $77,669

• Total Population: 404,321 
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,937
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $23,239
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $77,462

• Total Population: 684,103
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,878
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $22,541
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $75,137

• Total Population: 457,900
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,863
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $22,361
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $74,536

• Total Population: 541,528
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,828
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $21,933
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $73,110

• Total Population: 479,612
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,803
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $21,635
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $72,118

• Total Population: 875,045
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,761
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $21,130
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $70,433

• Total Population: 646,101
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,738
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $20,855
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $69,517

• Total Population: 958,202
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,729
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $20,753
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $69,177

• Total Population: 644,835
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,726
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $20,714
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $69,046

• Total Population: 1,593,208
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,716
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $20,589
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $68,630

• Total Population: 1,300,642
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,713
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $20,560
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $68,534

• Total Population: 1,609,456
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,704
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $20,446
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $68,152

• Total Population: 924,663
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,696
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $20,352
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $67,839

• Total Population: 503,390
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,678
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $20,131
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $67,102

• Total Population: 584,548
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,675
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $20,103
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $67,010

• Total Population: 465,517
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,666
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $19,991
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $66,637

• Total Population: 393,469
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,621
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $19,454
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $64,848

• Total Population: 950,203
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,616
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $19,387
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $64,622

• Total Population: 426,877
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,615
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $19,378
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $64,592

• Total Population: 2,296,253
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,582
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $18,987
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $63,290

• Total Population: 677,181
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,510
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $18,122
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $60,405

• Total Population: 541,033
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,485
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $17,824
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $59,413

• Total Population: 562.551
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,481
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $17,824
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $59,413

• Total Population: 902,449
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,420
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $17,035
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $56,785

• Total Population: 1,445,662
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,413
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $16,961
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $56,538

• Total Population: 882,006
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,371
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $16,453
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $54,842

• Total Population: 629,176
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,361
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $16,329
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $54,430

• Total Population: 505,958
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,359
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $16,312
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $54,374

• Total Population: 489,201
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,309
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $15,709
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $52,363

• Total Population: 573,299
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,295
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $15,545
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $51,816

• Total Population: 630,027
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,279
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $15,353
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $51,176

• Total Population: 636,787
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,270
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $15,246
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $50,820

• Total Population: 681,088
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,262
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $15,143
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $50,477

• Total Population: 411,938
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,225
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $14,702
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $49,006

• Total Population: 411, 938
• 2024 Monthly Rent: $1,021
• 2024 Yearly Rent: $12,256
• Minimum Salary Needed to Afford Rent: $40,852

Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates first found the 50 largest cities in America according to total population as sourced from the 2022 American Community Survey as conducted by the US Census Bureau. With the 50 cities found, GOBankingRates then used Zillow’s March 2024 data to find each city (1) 2024 average monthly rent and (2) 2024 average yearly rent. GOBankingRates was then able to find (3) the minimum salary one needs to afford rent, assuming that housing should cost no more than 30% of one’s gross (pre-tax) income. All data was collected and up to date as of May 2, 2024.