Our Carrie Bradshaw index: Where Americans can afford to live solo

It’s moving season. Across American cities, ahead of new school and college terms, streets fill up with people sweating in the summer heat as they lug furniture and piles of discarded household items. Inevitably, the season ushers in frantic rent negotiations with landlords.

Over the past 20 years rising rents have outpaced wage growth in America. According to Moody’s, a financial-services company, the average share of household income spent on rent hit 30% in 2022, its highest proportion in at least 25 years. For city dwellers, particularly those who wish to live alone, finding affordable housing is particularly challenging. By our calculations, in some cities even the humble studio apartment is well beyond the means of the average worker.

Using data on median rent prices from Zumper, an online property platform, The Economist calculated the salary needed to afford to rent a studio apartment in 100 of the largest cities in America. Unsurprisingly, New York tops the list: on average, tenants should probably earn at least $140,000 to comfortably afford a room of their own. Big cities in California, as well as Boston, Miami, Jersey City and Washington, DC make up the top ten, with renters having to earn well above the national median wage of $46,000 if they want to live alone. Fully 57 of the 100 cities, including Atlanta, Charleston and Orlando, require gross salaries higher than the national average.