10 Most Affordable Places For First-Time Gen Z Renters

Since many Zoomers, aged 16 to 24, don’t yet have the earning power of the older generations, they may struggle to afford a rental when they first set out on their own.

But some cities are especially affordable, making them great places for Gen Z to rent their first place.

• Population 16 to 24: 23.05%
• State median salary, under 24 years: $33,312 
• Average monthly rent: $894 

Overall monthly expenses in Cape Girardeau are around $3,237 per month. After rent, the biggest expense is transportation, at $284 per month, followed by $267 in groceries and $208 in utilities.

• Population 16 to 24: 23.05%
• State median salary, under 24 years: $33,312 
• Average monthly rent: $894 

In Baton Rouge Gen Z will pay around $191 per month in healthcare, $266 in groceries and $190 in utilities.

• Population 16 to 24: 21.00% 
• State median salary, under 24 years: $33,312 
• Average monthly rent: $952 

The average monthly expenditures for Gen Z in Springfield run around $3,241 per month, with transportation costs of  $368 outpacing even the costs of groceries, which cost around $264 per month.

• Population 16 to 24: 20.06% 
• State median salary, under 24 years: $36,203 
• Average monthly rent: $995 

In Knoxville, you need to make a bit more than the median state salary of $36,203 to afford the average monthly expenses of $3,546, but savvy Gen Z will figure out how to do so.

• Population 16 to 24: 28.02%
• State median salary, under 24 years: $29,032 
• Average monthly rent: $999  

In Hammond, Gen Z are paying around $267 in groceries and $152 in healthcare costs each month, though the bulk of their paycheck is going to rent.

• Population 16 to 24: 28.65%
• State median salary, under 24 years: $37,323 
• Average monthly rent: $1,125 

Overall monthly expenditures in La Crosse are around $3,458 per month, with bigger chunks going to housing, transportation and groceries.

• Population 16 to 24: 25.00%
• State median salary, under 24 years: $32,699 
• Average monthly rent: $963  

In Bowling Green, Gen Z will pay around $271 per month in groceries, $130 in healthcare and nearly $197 in utilities each month.

• Population 16 to 24: 24.15%
• State median salary, under 24 years: $39,366 
• Average monthly rent: $1,281 

Transportation is also taking a sizable chunk out of the monthly budget in Albany, at around $632 per month. That’s a big piece of the overall average monthly expenditures, which are around $3,836 per month.

• Population 16 to 24: 27.10%
• State median salary, under 24 years: $36,088 
• Average monthly rent: $1,066 

The overall average monthly expenditures in Carrollton are around $3,798 per month. The higher expenditures are transportation, at $421 per month, and groceries, around $264 per month.

• Population 16 to 24: 24.95%
• State median salary, under 24 years: $32,671 
• Average monthly rent: $963 

The average monthly expenditures in Conway run around $3,492 per month, with transportation being the biggest expenditure after housing, at around $355 per month.

Methodology: To find the most affordable places to live for Gen-Z first-time renter, GOBankingRates first identified the general age of Gen-Z as 16 to 24 from Pew Research Center. This represents the age range as well as the most popular group of people who are renting the first time, as 82% of housing for under 25 year olds come from rentals, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. The total population and population of people aged 16 to 24 were sourced from the US Census American Community Survey and the population aged 16 to 24 percentage can be calculated. All locations with under 15,000 total population and under 20% population of ages 16 to 24 were removed. The state-wide income for people aged under 25 was sourced from Forbes and the median household income for each city was sourced from the US Census American Community Survey. The places with a lower median income than the state-wide median income were removed as they do not offer affordable places for Gen-Z renters to live. For each remaining city a number of factors are found to including; the cost of living indexes as sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces and multiplied by the national average expenditure costs as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey to find the expenditure cost in each city, and the livability index as sourced from AreaVibes. The population 16 to 24 percentage was scored, the city median household income was scored, the difference from state-wide median income was scored, the average monthly expenditure cost was scored, and the livability index was scored. All the scores were summed and sorted to show the places with the most affordable and best places for Gen-Z First-Time Renters. All data was collected and is up-to-date as-of January 4th, 2024.