The Salary You Need To Afford To Rent a 1-Bedroom In Every State

With the ever-rising cost of living, the average American one-bedroom apartment now rents for $1,217. If you stick to the rule of thumb of spending 30% of your gross income on housing, you’d need a salary of $48,680 to comfortably afford rent.

Of course, this number varies widely from state to state. For example, a salary of $27,420 would allow you to comfortably afford rent for a one-bedroom in West Virginia, but you would need to earn $73,900 to afford rent in California.

Here’s a look at the salary needed to afford to rent a one-bedroom apartment in every state.

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $807
• Minimum salary needed: $32,290

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,152
• Minimum salary needed: $46,090

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $727
• Minimum salary needed: $29,090

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,848
• Minimum salary needed: $73,900

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,446
• Minimum salary needed: $57,840

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,324
• Minimum salary needed: $52,950

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,214
• Minimum salary needed: $48,560

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,307
• Minimum salary needed: $52,260

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,239
• Minimum salary needed: $49,570

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,731
• Minimum salary needed: $69,220

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $815
• Minimum salary needed: $32,600

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,199
• Minimum salary needed: $47,970

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $900
• Minimum salary needed: $35,990

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $779
• Minimum salary needed: $31,170

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $856
• Minimum salary needed: $34,220

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $830
• Minimum salary needed: $33,190

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $892
• Minimum salary needed: $35,670

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $837
• Minimum salary needed: $33,480

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,493
• Minimum salary needed: $59,700

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,524
• Minimum salary needed: $60,940

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $901
• Minimum salary needed: $36,020

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,143
• Minimum salary needed: $45,720

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $831
• Minimum salary needed: $33,250

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $909
• Minimum salary needed: $36,340

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $837
• Minimum salary needed: $33,490

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $953
• Minimum salary needed: $38,130

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,160
• Minimum salary needed: $46,400

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,158
• Minimum salary needed: $46,300

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,606
• Minimum salary needed: $64,230

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $880
• Minimum salary needed: $35,200

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,730
• Minimum salary needed: $69,210

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,126
• Minimum salary needed: $45,020

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $896
• Minimum salary needed: $35,830

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $844
• Minimum salary needed: $33,760

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $801
• Minimum salary needed: $32,030

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,227
• Minimum salary needed: $49,090

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,056
• Minimum salary needed: $42,230

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,088
• Minimum salary needed: $43,530

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,128
• Minimum salary needed: $45,120

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $711
• Minimum salary needed: $28,420

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,013
• Minimum salary needed: $40,520

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,144
• Minimum salary needed: $45,740

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,111
• Minimum salary needed: $44,430

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,570
• Minimum salary needed: $62,780

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $1,506
• Minimum salary needed: $60,240

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $686
• Minimum salary needed: $27,420

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $959
• Minimum salary needed: $38,360

• Average one-bedroom monthly rent: $786
• Minimum salary needed: $31,420

Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates used ApartmentList’s April 2024 rent data to find the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in every state. With this figure found, GOBankingRates was able to determine the minimum salary needed to afford a one-bedroom apartment in every state, assuming housing should not cost one more than 30% of one’s gross (pre-tax) income. All data was collected and up to date as of April 30, 2024. Alaska and Vermont were excluded due to insufficient data.